Smart packaging as an enhancer of sustainability in the fashion Industry: Transitioning to new circular practices in the Made in Italy

The fashion system is characterized by pre-production, production, distribution, use, and disposal processes with significant and negative environmental and human impacts. The entire supply chain accounts for 3 to 10% of global emissions and consumes substantial amounts of water, land, and resources, actively contributing to climate change. Moreover, the fast fashion production model promotes decentralized production, intensifying impacts related to transportation, packaging, and distribution processes, positioning the fashion supply chain as a systemic, large-scale issue that requires a sustainable and circular transition. The Advanced Design Unit (ADU) research group at the University of Bologna believes that this transformation can be driven by the Transitional Industrial Designer, a designer capable of incorporating mediation and anticipation practices to foster a sustainable and circular transition of industrial processes, integrating Transition Design practices with Advanced Design and disciplines emerging from Design for Sustainability. This article aims to present an experiment focusing on new circular practices for the distribution phase of the fashion supply chain. The study is conducted within the framework of the project FuturE-Pack: Digital Advanced Design for the Enhancement of Packaging as a ‘Broadcaster’ in the Made in Italy Supply Chain. Digital technologies are revolutionizing the role of packaging, transforming it from a mere container into an intelligent device capable of tracking products, monitoring safety, and ensuring quality. Packaging now serves as an enhanced communication tool, conveying brand values and engaging consumers. This article outlines the objectives and methods of an experiment conducted with companies from the IT and fashion sectors to explore how packaging can act as an enhancer of information exchange for the sustainability and circularity of fashion products, promoting responsible production and consumption and advancing the sector toward a circular economy.