Circular fashion needs to be applied as soon as possible. If you don’t realize that fast fashion can and has damaged the environment, you are still living in the stone age. Fashion is one of the main contributors to pollution in our air and oceans, and also endangers the health of the workers who produce it.
According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the textile industry will add 22 million tons of microfiber in the sea by 2050 so we will eat and breathe in our own clothes.
According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, clothing production has doubled from 2000 to 2015 but the reuse of clothing goods has decreased significantly, causing waste to increase. It is estimated that one garbage truck is full of clothing burned or stockpiled every second.
This is a huge pressure on the natural resources of our planet. To combat the waste and unsustainable fashion industry, some visionaries talk about redesigning the textile industry with a circular vision.
What is Circular Fashion?
Fashion circular is a term that was first used openly in 2014 by two people, Felix and Anna. Felix Ockborn is the coordinator of environmental conservation for H & M in Stockholm. Anna Brismar is one of the world’s leading sustainability consultants in the textile industry and owner of Circularfashion.com.
They envision a new future for industries where clothing and accessories are designed in such a way that they are produced without microfiber and other dangerous raw materials. There is an emphasis on the quality and longevity of each garment, and a special focus on recycling.
Thus, the life cycle of fashion items can be broken down into the following elements :
Design: Clothing and accessories will be designed for environmentally friendly production using high-quality materials to increase life in your wardrobe and will also have a timeless model that will attract new users.
Production: produced using high-quality ingredients for the long term and if possible biodegradable, so later can be composted. In addition, clothing and accessories will be produced with non-toxic synthetic materials that can be recycled effectively, such as recyclable polyester.
Usage: through borrowing, leasing, and redesign so as to significantly extend the duration of fashion items.
Reuse: At the end of the product lifecycle, subcomponents will be used as raw materials to make new products, or compost to turn into biological nutrients for microorganisms in the soil.
How can you become a Circular Fashion consumer?
As a user, you need to think about borrowing, exchanging, renting, or buying antiques before buying new items. When you buy clothes, look for high quality and timeless so can use them for a long time.
Choose the item with organic ingredients, non-toxic and recyclable. Donate or give items to friends and family to give them new life.
MUD Jeans is the first brand that allows customers to rent jeans and send them back after a year to be recycled to more jeans or sweaters. In India, Atelier OM Khadi in Goa is a fashion label that invites customers to return their products after two years to be reprinted or dyed again.
In January 2018, the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) 2020 Circular Fashion Commitment was announced to take concrete steps. 64 fast fashion companies and luxury designers have signed agreements including Zara, Asos, H & M, Adidas, and Dry holding companies from Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga.
Adidas will establish a used clothing collection center, ASOS will re-train their designers to use circular fashion philosophy and stop using materials that cannot be recycled, while H & M will fund research on textile recycling to achieve the desired circular fashion.
