Use of Weather Factors in Clothing Studies in Korea and its Implications: a Review

Climate change-induced weather changes have a sensitive impact on the clothing industry. Developing a predictive model for demand volatility caused by weather changes is necessary to allow a company to generate profit while reducing unnecessary resource use and greenhouse gas and wastewater emissions due to overproduction. This review compares and analyzes empirical clothing research papers published in the Republic of Korea since 2000 and examines research directions on the integration of clothing and weather and how weather information is utilized in the clothing industry. We summarize the impact of temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and other weather factors on sales. Specifically, the mixed results published in Korea were compared with previous international studies to find weather data and analysis methods. This study identifies the challenges in weather and sales-related studies and presents the scope of methodological improvements. Furthermore, the role of weather forecasting in the clothing industry’s supply chain is proposed to respond to unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change. The results of this review study should be considered that there is a limit to analyzing clothing sales in Korea only with weather factors because consumers’ purchasing motives are very diverse.