User:Fahionista001

Introduction

The fashion industry plays a critical role in the global economy as it is currently valued at $450 billion. Although, the sector is the second-largest carbon emitter surpassing the transport sector, causing detrimental environmental and social effects in its supply chain. The damaging effects have made numerous stakeholders urge industry players to cease using the linear economy model and adopt the circular economy model. A circular economy is a generative and restorative system by design and intention. Restoration brings in the idea of ending a product's life span by discouraging the use of toxic chemicals that hinder reusing and advocating for preserving nonrenewable energy sources. The concept maximizes products' life cycle by encouraging fashion industry players to reuse, recycle, redesign, and repair. Furthermore, a circular economy aims to foster sustainable supply chains, minimize waste generation, and mitigate adverse environmental effects.

Since 2010, global campaigns against linear economic models have been rampant. However, fast fashion companies are sometimes hesitant to adopt circular economy models. Instead, they implement sustainable defensive strategies since they fear experiencing reduced performance. On the contrary, fashion brands that have followed sustainable principles and values since their inception adopt proactive strategies that foster collaborative and innovative supply chain models. All fashion industry players must implement proactive circular economy strategies to achieve SDG 12. However, not all companies will adhere to the recommendation unless they are fully aware of how their operations affect society and the environment and understand the circular economy concept in-depth. Arguably, the fashion industry to adopt a circular economy model to speed up the efforts of achieving SDG 12.

Background Context

Environmental impacts of the fashion industry

The rate of consumption in the fashion industry is alarming. Companies have adopted mass production, which encourages the adoption of a linear economy model of extraction, manufacturing, and disposing of resources. Therefore, it makes the industry account for a massive part of its most serious environmental impacts. For instance, the industry consumes about  98 million metric tonnes of nonrenewable resources such as oil to manufacture chemical products used in finishing fabrics and dyeing, fertilizers used in cotton farming, and the production of synthetic fibres. Furthermore, the industry accounts for 500 thousand metric tonnes of microplastic fibres deposited in water bodies, 1.2 billion metric tonnes of global carbon emissions, and 93 billion litres of water, thus promoting drought conditions. Also, the fashion industry is notorious for its waste generation. It generates textile waste in fibres, fabric residues, and yarns. Pre-consumption waste is also common, with fashion brands reporting waste as unsold, defective, or damaged products during offline and online sales. More so, post-consumption waste is also vital. After making a purchase, consumers might not want the clothes anymore, or they might be damaged and outdated. Data provided shows that in 2015, post-consumer textile generation had increased by 50%, and about 11 million metric tonnes of clothes purchased were in landfills. Only 20% of textile waste is collected and recycled or reused. The remaining 80% is incinerated (leading to a loss of raw materials and increased carbon footprint) and goes to landfills.

Circular fashion strategies

Circular economy views waste as a significant resource. Textile waste can be returned and redistributed back to their supply chains. That way, fashion companies can foster the attainment of SDG 12 by reusing and recycling raw materials, procuring items with a longer shelf life, and engaging in proper waste disposal techniques. Material recycling and upcycling can only become popular if consumers become increasingly aware of the benefits of sustainable production and consumption; hence, it is up to the businesses involved in the fashion industry to encourage their customers to reduce post-consumption waste, thus promoting circular economy. By doing so, the fashion industry will have green supply chains that protect the interests of the environment and society. The following strategies play a vital role in ensuring a circular fashion industry;

1. Resource Efficiency

Resource efficiency advocates for the usage of fewer raw materials in manufacturing clothes. Its objective is to reduce pollution and efficiently use nonrenewable resources. Resource efficiency can be achieved by using sustainable and renewable raw materials which have a reduced impact on the environment. For fashion companies, reducing land, chemical, and water usage and using natural raw materials like cotton should be prioritized. They should minimize the usage of synthetic fibres, which need the burning of fossil fuels to be produced. Although companies should use synthetic fibres instead of natural resources such as wool and fur, which are sourced from animals. It is advisable that companies only use synthetic fibres when necessary if the other option is more detrimental. An example of good practice in using sustainable raw materials is seen in Kusaga Athletic, an Australian-based fashion company that uses plant-based sustainable raw materials. The materials used by the company have the potential to replace traditional materials like polyester and cotton.

Waste minimization is also a critical aspect of attaining resource efficiency. Circular economy asks companies to design and manufacture eco-friendly clothes that can be reused or recycled. Waste minimization is beneficial to the environment and businesses as it reduces resource dependence and saves on production costs. Numerous companies have reduced waste in their supply chains. For instance, Rent the Runway gives customers fashion sharing services where they can rent designer clothes (instead of buying and disposing of them at an affordable monthly price. Another UK-based brand Eileen Fisher encourages its customers to return their unused clothes to be redesigned and resold. On the other hand, Nudie jeans gives its customers repair kits. Customers can send their torn jeans to be repaired by professionals. Post-consumer waste is not the only matter of concern. Preconsumer wastes are also an issue since companies experience 15% fabric waste when cutting garments. Hence, it is essential to simplify designs to minimize unnecessary cutting. Also, adopting a demand-based production process can help reduce waste resulting from unsold stock. Zara is an example of a brand that uses a demand-driven business model, making it have less waste and efficient production systems.

2. Circular design

Circular fashion can also be achieved by adopting sustainable designs. Data shows that 80% of a product's environmental impact is seen while designing. Designers can reduce their products' environmental impact in the fashion industry by choosing sustainable materials, colors, silhouettes, trims, and quality. Arguably, designing for longevity can help companies remain sustainable. It implies designing clothes that are long-lasting and durable. Stable dyes, durable materials, and good quality Sean's can withstand abrasion and washing, thus increasing the product's life cycle. Flexible adjustments, like bands and elastics, are also helpful in meeting consumers' changing needs, such as changing body sizes. Designing long-lasting involves creating products that meet consumers' long-term needs. That is, designing trans-seasonal outfits that do not get outdated. It can include interchangeable parts such as pockets and sleeves. For instance, Kattermusen designs, a Swedish apparel company, designs functional trousers with detachable gear loops and pockets.

Design for disassembly is also a part of circular design. It involves designing clothes that can be deconstructed and remanufactured, reused, and recycled. Currently, apparel companies are creating clothes that can be dismantled by cutting along the seam or unpicking threads manually. Although many consumers find dissembling garments manually time-consuming and tiresome, they dispose of items that can be reused. Therefore, it is crucial that companies simplify the dissembling process, guarantee recovery of materials, and reduce deconstruction cost and time. For instance, they can quickly adapt Wear2 technology to remove threads and facilitate faster reprocessing.

3. Product life extension

In a circular economy, product life extension is a critical factor. It aims to extend the usage of a product for as long as it takes through the adoption of efficient operational and design procedures. Product life extension is the most effective way of minimizing energy usage in extracting raw materials and the need for virgin material. Increasing the number of times clothes can be used reduces the number of purchases made, pollution, waste, and captures material value. If apparel companies doubled the increased product's life cycle, greenhouse gas emissions would reduce by 44%.

One way of extending a product's life cycle is by providing repair services. Repairing services extend a product's lifespan, hence minimizing the usage of virgin materials. Currently, numerous clothing repairing businesses offer clothes mending and repairing services. For instance, Clothes Doctor, a clothing repair and maintenance company gives consumers repairing services packages at a fee, including returns and deliveries. Consumers can also repair their clothes at home. Companies like Nudie Jeans deliver repair kits to consumers who have no physical access to their stores. Such companies promote DIY (do it yourself) projects that are increasingly becoming popular. Although some consumers might not have the necessary skills and time to repair their clothes, many fashion companies should extend their brand portfolio by providing repair services to loyal customers.

Sharing platforms also foster circular fashion by extending a product's life cycle. In a circular economy, clothes can be shared, rented, or leased as an aspect refered to as collaborative consumption. Collaborative consumption ensures that a product is frequently in use. Designing durable and long-lasting clothes and presenting them to sharing platforms can transform how people consume apparel products. In a world where consumers, particularly women, like changing their wardrobes, sharing platforms can help save resources and environmental benefits. For example, DressYouCan, an Italian company that provides fashion renting services, allows women to rent accessories, shoes, and dresses for special occasions at consumer-friendly prices. It uses a subscription model where consumers pay a flat fee to rent a certain amount of products for a specified time. The option is considered cost-effective and attractive to customers who live changing their wardrobes. Rent for Runway allows celebrities to rent carpet dresses at affordable prices. MUD jeans also allow consumers to lease their jeans, including repair services at a monthly fee. Clothes swapping is also popular. Consumers can swap their clothes amongst themselves, creating new opportunities for sustainable consumption.

Current barriers

As much as a circular economy is beneficial to the fashion industry, numerous barriers hinder its implementation of a circular economy. First, the textile and fashion sector is not well equipped to achieve a circular economy. Fashion supply chains are fragmented, globalized, and complex to ensure circular transparency. Since apparel manufacturing companies are located further away from their end-users, it is impossible to implement the reverse logistics concept. To achieve circularity, the industry must ensure continuous engagement, effective communication, and extensive commitment will all partners in the supply chains.

Furthermore, fashion designers are not well supported and empowered to incorporate sustainable practices when designing garments. Many fashion brands are profit-driven and will not accept decisions that can hamper profit generation. For instance, recycled materials and expensive than virgin materials; hence many companies will opt for virgin materials to save on costs. Also, recycled material raises quality concerns, and companies are unwilling to compromise their reputation by adopting sustainable solutions.

Also, many companies regard waste as a cost and not as a resource, which hampers their efforts in closing the resource loop. Recycling is not cost-effective, and there are no adequate technologies to help in sorting leads, making recycling processes labour intensive. Such factors have no market opportunities and economic benefits, discouraging companies from adopting them.

Additionally, a lack of consumer interest and awareness is slowing down the adoption of a circular economy in the fashion world. Consumer commitment and healthy relationships with producers are critical in returning torn outfits for repair. Even though developed countries like the US and UK have return services in place, consumers rarely return torn outfits for repair. In developing countries, there are no such services. Consumers only understand the linear economy model, and persuading them to adopt a circular economy will take time.

Recommendations

There are numerous strategies that stakeholders in the fashion industry can adopt to foster a circular economy. They include;

1. Adopting technology and innovation.

Transitioning from a linear economic model to a circular one requires technology and innovative minds. Businesses should innovate new sustainable ways of reducing dependence on polyester and consumption. They can use pineapple, orange, and banana fibres as an alternative. Technologies such as sustainable printing can also help create a circular fashion industry.

2. Creating efficient reverse logistics processes.

Companies can create reverse logistics processes that integrate all stakeholders in the loop. Digital technologies can help track and trace resources. Incentive schemes can also encourage consumers to return their unwanted clothes to be redesigned and sold.

3. Enhancing consumer participation.

Currently, consumers are becoming more attracted to sustainable brands. Companies can increase their involvement by implementing business-service models in their operations. For example, it can provide discounts towards new repairs from items once sold.

4. Creating consumer awareness through educative programs.

Businesses operating in the fashion industry can create effective marketing campaigns to convince their consumers of the benefits of circular fashion.

Reflection

A circular economy model is helpful in the fashion industry as it is directed toward attaining SDG 12. After highlighting the fashion industry's detrimental impacts on the environment, I believe businesses operating in the sector will be persuaded to adopt sustainable solutions. Enterprises are looking forward to reducing their carbon footprint, and the fashion sector is not an exception. Furthermore, I believe that pointing out various strategies companies can use to minimize negative impacts can help them have background knowledge on making their production processes efficient. These strategies include waste minimization, extending the product life cycle, and adopting circular designs. Such approaches have already been implemented by numerous businesses such as Zara. When asking companies to implement new processes, mentioning the strategies is not enough. It is vital to provide companies with good practices to allow them to benchmark and learn how the company adopted the rules. Also, I have highlighted barriers that the industry is currently facing in eradicating the issue. Stakeholders can find better ways to manage the obstacles by adopting the recommendations listed above. Before undertaking this persuasive piece, I had no idea that the fashion industry is the second leading emitter of global greenhouse gases. But now, I see it as urgent to ensure that businesses operating in the sector adopt sustainable solutions to promote sustainable consumption and production.