Circular Fashion Shifting Waste Out
Circular fashion is a cyclical process where the lifespan of a garment or product is considered carefully beginning with the design phase with major consideration of waste throughout the supply chain. Dr. Anna Brismar coined the term in 2014 and worked with the luxury resale, Vestiaire Collective. Dr. Anna also organized an event, The Circular Fashion Show and Talk (Green Strategy, “Origin and Definition of Circular Fashion”).
Brismar states, “it begins with the timelessness and longevity of the piece, materials such as fabric type, thread, notions, etc are considered into longevity.” The product is worn well into a reusable phase. Then, the product can be phased into what I refer to as the deconstruction phase of the materials; then it is redesigned and not thrown away. Longevity is taken into consideration from the initial design phase toward the worn phase into the deconstruction (reused) phase. More big corporations are taking notice and moving forward regarding this shift in the fashion industry.
Gucci recently launched a circular collection of genderless luggage, accessories, shoes and ready-to-wear pieces with blazing celebrities like Jane Fonda, David de Rothschild, and King Princess among others. (Vogue; “‘A Symbol for the New Era’-Gucci off the Grind Is Alessandro Michele’s First Step Toward Circularity” 2020) So notably, this is not a trend and more of a shift in how the supply chains work in fashion industry and how fashion industry systems are changing even during a pandemic. The creation of a garment needs to be considered from design phase to worn out into the to re-designed or what I refer to the or deconstruction phase of the piece. The circular fashion approach stems from eliminating textile waste. Unfortunately, most garments worn life is average 3.3 years before it is discarded into landfill, given abroad to charity or resale market abroad (Common Objective: The Issues: Waste).
Stacy Flynn of Evrnu, a textile innovation company, rooted in the regeneration of textiles with pre fabric material is poised to be a leader in a fiber molecular process to generate new fiber material from waste. Essentially, Flynn is creating a company that will close the loop on wasteful fashion. Envru was launched in 2015 and one of the breakthrough processes is how fiber will be broken down and made into another fiber., Evrnu is breaking down cotton garment waste (think of your t-shirt) on a molecular level to create another fiber to continue on as a resource or raw material ready for the basis of another garment or product (Impact Hub 2018).
This solves a waste problem within the fashion industry and beyond. “The Issues: Waste” (Common Objective) indicates a considerable challenge in the fashion industry where less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new fiber and 20% of all textiles are recycled. This Envru circular fashion model solves this dilemma of closed loop model designing with regenerative fabric to maximize its use and minimize waste.
Close loop is exactly defined that way: “products are designed, manufactured, designed, used and handled so as to circulate within society as long as possible, with maximum usability, minimum adverse environmental impacts, minimum waste generation, and the most efficient use of water energy, and other resources throughout the lifecycle span.”
In conclusion, the purpose of this article is to inform you as a consumer and give you a solid understanding of how the fashion industry has begun to shift in ways to make your clothes last, make the least impact on the environment and most important, help facilitate a more mainstream process for the people creating your garments so that the fashion industry changes for the better.
If you liked this information, sign up for the e-newsletter and see how this process is going to be within our company as we create a travel handbag for today’s woman. We are committed to providing the least impact for travel accessories pieces and eventually, reusing them into other pieces. Also, be on the lookout for sneak peeks into our process on how we make a timeless travel bag for global women.
