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Jump to the full conversation.The circular economy holds enormous promise for the fashion and textiles industry to revamp its current systems and move away from unsustainable practices. But while the ‘why’ of circularity is increasingly understood, the ‘how’ is still largely unanswered. What’s holding back the supply chain from moving beyond intent to action? What are the barriers to circularity, and what can brands, designers, and consumers already do to get started?On June 21st, The Next Closet, Loop.a.life, and Stating the Obvious joined our Circle Textiles team (Gwen Cunningham, Traci Kinden and Jade Wilting) on Twitter to discuss both the current state and the future of circular textiles. Here are insights from our conversation.
There are many ways to go about sourcing circular materials. You can start with giving materials a second life by using recycled materials or mono-materials whenever possible, sourcing excess rolled from traders/jobbers, or using manufacturers’ offcuts for small runs!
A1: 1 option is to focus on giving used materials a new life by sourcing recycled materials like @RecoverUpcycled cotton or RPET #circlechat
— Stating The Obvious (@Helene_STO) June 21, 2017
A1a: Check out @ReverseResourcs to use manufacturers' offcuts and rolled goods #circlechat
— REvolveWaste (@REvolveWaste) June 21, 2017
Dig deeper into the topic here.
Some companies are already leading the way. The Next Closet, for example, operates as a reselling platform to give luxury clothes a second, extended life; Loop.a.life transforms post-consumer garments into beautifully designed, high value products; Mud Jeans is making important strides in designing for disassembly and cyclability; Kate Goldsworthy only uses mono materials in her collections; and Filippa K and Mistra Fashion’s Circular Design Speeds initiative is challenging designers to use constraints as a springboard for circularity.
A2: @KusagaAthletic is doing great work. #circlechat https://t.co/GZXje6TCZJ
— costrike (@costrike) June 21, 2017
A2a: @mudjeansNL is a nice example of Design for Cyclability. Labels printed on fabric and working on screw on/off buttons. #circlechat
— Stating The Obvious (@Helene_STO) June 21, 2017
yes and aside from @thenextcloset let us not forget @LENAlibrary where you can borrow/exchange clothes like a library. Love it! #circlechat
— Stating The Obvious (@Helene_STO) June 21, 2017
Know of any others? Tweet us!
Designing for circular fashion is not without its hurdles. The number of constraints designers have to work around, coupled with a lack of understanding of just how much of an impact they have on the end of life of a garment, and a mismatch between what designers intend for a garment’s disposal and what consumers actually do with it, all make designing for circular fashion seem borderline impossible.However, with the right training and tools, we can empower designers so they find inspiration rather than frustration in these constraints and make informed decisions to design for a more circular fashion industry.
A3. Designers' freedom seems to be a recurring barrier in the research - If it's not in the brief... @circleeconomy #circlechat
— Rhiannon (@_rhiannonhunt) June 21, 2017
A3a No zippers, no buttons, no lurex, no elastan, etc, etc, etc. #circlechat
— Loopalife (@loopalife) June 21, 2017
A3 Getting an education in sustainable design is critical @AMFI #circlechat
— Gwen Cunningham (@Gwenhams) June 21, 2017
Reasons abound for brands to invest in take-back schemes: they foster brand value and loyalty; they allow brands to retain control over precious resources by turning consumers into suppliers; and they provide great alternatives to fashion-conscious consumers not quite ready to shop second-hand. Perhaps more importantly, they help raise awareness and shed light on just how much textiles waste we continue to dispose of around the clock.And it can be done. Patagonia, ever the environmental champion, has been ahead of the game for a while with their Worn Wear initiative, but fast-fashion giants like H&M and Zara are also starting to pull their weight.
A4 Leasing models give brands control of resources for the long term. Hello sustainability, good bye resource scarcity. #circlechat
— Jade (@notjaded) June 21, 2017
A4 long lasting relationship with the consumer. Clothing as service #circlechat
— Ricardo Weigend Rdz (@RichoWeigend) June 21, 2017
A4 Fosters brand value and loyalty. Your consumer is now your supplier & missing link in the chain! #circlechat
— Gwen Cunningham (@Gwenhams) June 21, 2017
A4 Used goods can become secure inputs for new materials @mudjeansNL #circlechat
— REvolveWaste (@REvolveWaste) June 21, 2017
Learn more about our post-consumer textile waste problem.
Consumers are currently both unaware and unable to gain proper access to education and information about the impact of their consumption choices. Sustainable fashion brands have also done a poor job at marketing to them, focusing on the niche rather than the mainstream and often missing the mark with the eco-fashion value proposition. But clothes are incredibly personal, and getting consumers to be part of the transition to a circular fashion industry requires us not only to inform and admonish them, but attract them and reel them in.
A6 Circular fashion can be sexy and exciting: communicate it can have a positive impact on consumer @circleeconomy #circlechat
— Orange Fiber (@OrangeFiber) June 21, 2017
A6 lack of education, information and accessibility. Unattractive marketing for consumers. Movement not yet as big as it should #circlechat
— Ricardo Weigend Rdz (@RichoWeigend) June 21, 2017
Totally agree! Even the fair fashion industry must be consumer oriented! We should also act on consumers to close the gap #circlechat
— Massimiliano Böhm (@Massimiliano982) June 22, 2017
Check out the @AMFI Hello Goodbuy activist group for constant inspiration! https://t.co/jnmEhrlBFM
— Gwen Cunningham (@Gwenhams) June 21, 2017
For all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together – for take-back schemes to serve their purpose, for consumers to get on board, and for designers to make the right decisions – we still need to build the right infrastructure to support our current, disjointed efforts. This both includes the physical infrastructure needed to close the loop, but also the research, resources, and incentives needed to drive change.
A4a: Take back schemes need an effective recycling infrastructure. Few high-end brands have invested in this. We fill the gap. #circlechat
— The Next Closet (@thenextcloset) June 21, 2017
We're taking a break for the summer but #circlechat will be back in September! We’ll also be releasing the full calendar for the next few months soon. [cta link="http://circle-economy.com/twitter-chat-signup"]Sign up to get it here.[/cta]
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Look back on the full conversation here.
