Sustainable Colour forecasting: The benefits of creating a better colour trend forecasting system for consumers, the fashion industry and the environment

Changes in the fashion industry occur through combinations of design and marketing communications efforts directed by the industry and the timeliness of consumers' responses to such directives. Trends are linear in present time periods having either a long-term or a short-term existence or appeal; and cyclic in past and future time zones, though in subsequent lifetimes a trend will emulate the subtleties of the environmental and societal factors of those times resonating with the behaviours of that particular generation of consumers. In this chapter the colour forecasting process and the forecasting sector is outlined. It makes clear that this specialist sector uses planned obsolescence strategies to enforce the perception of out-dated and on-trend concepts. The chapter concludes with an improved colour forecasting system to aid sustainability.