Such a system would have the following characteristics…
1. It produces and provides access to high quality, affordable, individualised clothing
In a circular economy for fashion, everyone has access to the clothes they need, when they need them. New business models give customers more flexibility on the clothes they’d like to wear and provide access to clothes that might not be affordable through traditional sales. Clothes are designed and produced at a high quality, are durable, and provide different functionalities and flexibility – for example, in the form of personal styles, customised or modifiable clothes.
2. It captures the full value of clothing during and after use
In a circular economy for fashion, clothes are used more often, which allows their value to be captured fully. Once clothes cannot be used anymore, recycling them into new clothes allows the value of the materials to be captured at different levels. To be able to capture the value of all materials once garments are no longer worn, it is necessary to ensure that design aligns with recycling processes that are available today.
3. It runs on renewable energy and uses renewable resources where their input is needed
The energy required to fuel a circular economy for fashion is renewable, decreasing resource dependence and increasing system resilience. Resources are kept in the system and where input is needed, this comes from renewable resources. This means using renewable feedstock for plastic-based fibres and not using fossil-fuel-based fertilisers or pesticides in the farming of biologically-based input. A circular economy for fashion further enables this shift to renewables as its very nature ensures that less energy and fewer resources are consumed.
4. It reflects the true cost (environmental and societal) of materials and production processes in the price of products
In a circular economy for fashion, the price of clothing reflects the full costs of its production, including negative environmental and societal impacts. Such costs are first analysed and presented in company reporting, and ultimately reflected in product prices.
5. It regenerates nature and does not pollute the environment
Renewable resources are extracted from nature by regenerative and restorative methods that rebuild natural capital (the world’s stock of natural resources). This means using regenerative agriculture for biological-based input such as cotton, and sustainably managed forests for wood-based fibres. Substances of concern do not leak into the environment or risk the health of textile workers and clothing users. Plastic microfibres are not released into the environment and ocean. Other pollutants, such as greenhouse gases, are designed out.
6. A circular economy for fashion is distributive by design
As part of promoting overall system health, a circular economy for fashion presents new opportunities for distributed and inclusive growth. It creates a thriving ecosystem of enterprises from small to large, retaining and then circulating enough of the value created so that businesses and their employees can participate fully in the wider economy.
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