AI makes the fashion industry faster and greener. But what will that mean for workers?

In the industrial town of Rupganj outside of Bangladesh’s capital, clothing manufacturer Fakir Fashions is using artificial intelligence to automatically pause production and avoid waste when something goes wrong in its knitting operations.

AI technology has also allowed the fashion supplier, which employs about 10,000 workers, to dismiss dozens of human quality inspectors, said managing director Fakir Kamruzzaman Nahid.

Suppliers and brands across the $1.7 trillion global fashion industry are beginning to use AI technology, such as in cameras and sensors that detect defects, to boost production, and to reduce their environmental impact, including by monitoring emissions and water use.