By Lena Milton

We know that the clothing choices we make have an environmental impact. But the choices that the fashion industry makes as a whole have a much larger potential to make long-lasting positive change. The main pathway to make fashion more sustainable is through embracing a circular economy. This guide explains what a circular economy is and discusses solutions a circular economy offers that fashion brands around the world can, and should, embrace.

What Is a Circular Economy?

A circular economy is an economy that focuses on reducing waste and using recycled materials. Our current economy depletes resources and materials to produce products, and then these products are simply thrown away.

In a circular economy, products are designed and produced with their next use in mind. This means products are designed using recycled materials, and products are then reused or recycled at the end of their useful life.

In the case of fashion, this means that clothing should be created either using recycled fabrics, or with the intention of recycling it after its use.

Why Does the Fashion Industry Need a Circular Economy?

As you may know, the current fashion industry is extremely unsustainable and contributes to environmental problems such as resource depletion, climate change, and pollution.

Firstly, the fashion industry creates extremely large amounts of waste. As more and more clothing is produced every year, consumers buy more clothing each year. The average consumer buys more than double the amount of clothing now than they did in 2000. Meanwhile, clothes are actually worn fewer times. With this increased production and consumption comes increased amounts of waste. Very little clothing is recycled. In 2018, only 13% of all textiles were recycled, and even less was turned into new clothing.

This is a huge waste of resources, as these textiles simply sit in a landfill, rather than being recycled and used to create new clothing. The United Nations estimates that globally, 500 billion USD of value is lost annually due to clothing that is not worn frequently and that is not recycled.

Even if clothing is recycled, it often contains dangerous toxic chemicals that can leach out over time, causing harm both to humans and the environment.

Secondly, the fashion industry emits high amounts of carbon dioxide and is a large contributor to global warming. In fact, the fashion industry emits between 8-10% of global carbon emissions.

Lastly, the fashion industry is extremely polluting. Not only does it create 20% of wastewater, but it also dumps large amounts of plastic microfibers into the ocean, which are difficult to remove and harm marine life.

The fashion industry needs to make some big changes, as its harmful practices cannot be sustained long term. The introduction of a circular economy for textile and clothing production will not only help reduce waste, but it will reduce the fashion industry’s negative impact on the environment.

Solutions: How Fashion Can Create a Circular Economy

1. Design: Design with Intention

The first step in embracing a circular economy comes from designers of clothing. Designers must design clothing thoughtfully. The materials used to create clothes are of the utmost importance. In a circular economy, clothes should be made from recycled materials, or from materials that will be able to be recycled at the end of the product’s use.

If the clothing item is made from materials that cannot be recycled, it should be made from biodegradable materials. This helps avoid clothing sitting in landfills.

Lastly, the design should focus on using nontoxic materials in clothing. Many fabrics contain toxic chemicals that can harm human health as well as the environment. Fashion manufacturers should ensure their products undergo chemical testing before the clothes are sold.

2. Production: Reduce Byproducts, Consume Less Energy

Clothes must be produced using methods that create low levels of carbon emissions and pollution. One example of this is creating clothing that uses less water, energy, and hazardous materials to produce. This may also include using less synthetic dye and other synthetic materials.

3. Purchase wisely

While the first two steps are things that fashion producers can do, the next three steps are things that you, the average consumer can take.

Your clothing purchases can help achieve a circular economy. Sustainable habits include:

Buying clothing produced locally. This decreases carbon emissions of transport.
Buy durable clothing. This reduces the amount of clothes you need to buy, and thus, reduces the amount of clothing waste.
Buy clothes you like. Buying clothes that you actually want to wear will increase its use and reduce your clothing consumption. In fact, many brands are creating clothing that can be worn in multiple ways, which helps reduce the need to buy more clothing.

4. Reuse

When you’re done with your clothing, don’t just throw it away. First, you can try redesigning your clothing, swapping it with a friend, or renting new clothing, rather than buying new clothes. You should also consider donating or reselling clothes that are in good condition that you no longer wear. Not only can you make a little extra money reselling, but you can provide clothes to those in need, all while reducing waste. Donating clothes is easier than ever now, as many companies, such as Pact, offer easy, remote clothing donations.

5. Recycle

Finally, recycle your clothing that you are no longer wearing, rather than throwing them in the trash. However, try your best not to simply use recycling old clothes as an excuse to buy new clothes. The practice of recycling clothing is still being refined, and may not be as sustainable a practice as it can be in the future.

How the Fashion Industry Can Embrace a Circular Economy