It’s no secret that consumerism is trashing the planet, and the fashion industry is a big part of the problem. ThereΆs a growing corner of the industry thatΆs committed to less harmful practices, but as it stands, thatΆs not really enough — not only is global warming and pollution spiraling out of control, but weΆre running out of resources too.
WeΆre currently consuming resources at 1.6x the worldΆs capacity. Industry experts at Boston Consulting Group and the Global Fashion Agenda predict that clothing consumption will increase by over 60 percent by 2030, and by then weΆll be using two planets worth of resources. Manufacturers arenΆt stupid — theyΆve realized that if things donΆt change, they wonΆt actually have anything left to actually make stuff with. Many brands and producers are slowly coming around to whatΆs called circularmanufacturing, and itΆs likely to have knock-on effects on how we consume clothing in the future.
Currently, most products are designed with a linear lifespan. We make things, and when theyΆre no longer needed, theyΆre thrown away, likely ending up in a landfill or incinerated. If all, or part, of a product gets recycled, then most of the time it goes further down the value chain — T-shirts end up as rags or insulation, for example. ItΆs massively wasteful, and it means manufacturers are losing ownership of valuable resources when they could be keeping hold of them.
In a circular system, products are designed from the very beginning to be recycled, without moving down the value chain. Take a running shoe, for example. Due to the huge amount of stress the body puts on it while itΆs in use, itΆs a product with a limited lifespan. When the shoe reaches the end of its lifespan, instead of being thrown away, it could theoretically have its upper reprocessed and sole melted down, so those components could then be used in making another running shoe.
The idea is that weΆd reach a point where consumption and production doesnΆt result in any waste at all, as every used or unwanted product is recovered, then fully recycled.
Hance Taplin / Highsnobiety
The Global Fashion Agenda recently announced that 64 leading brands and corporations, which make up 7.5 percent of the total value of the global fashion industry, signed a commitment to move towards a more circular system. The signatories include adidas, ASOS, Lacoste, H&M, Kering (owners of Balenciaga, Gucci and Saint Laurent), and VF Corp (which owns Timberland, Vans and The North Face).
It basically means that companies will commit to collecting and re-selling a higher volume of used garments, while using more recycled fibers in their products. Most importantly, it urges companies to design products to be recycled — which is the beginning of a truly circular system.
Of course, this isnΆt going to save the world overnight, but things are already happening behind the scenes. For example, Nike designers arenΆt allowed to mix materials together if it will make the end product harder to recycle.
But what does this all have to do with us, the end consumers?
Well, a truly circular economy would create a culture where we use products, rather than ownthem. Currently, manufacturers make things, then sell them and forget about them — thatΆs whatΆs creating so much waste. If manufacturers were instead recovering, recycling and reprocessing their products, then it makes much more sense for them to rent them rather than sell them.
That way, they still own all of the materials, and can ensure theyΆre recovered and recycled correctly. With resources becoming scarcer and increasingly valuable, this business model makes much more sense in the long run.
ItΆs not hard to imagine a future where clothing is rented rather then owned, as part of some kind of subscription service — like Spotify or Netflix for your wardrobe. ItΆd be especially useful for garments with short lifespans or limited uses — kidsΆ clothing, running shoes, wedding suits, that kind of thing.
But it also suits modern consumption habits. Social media has made trends move faster than ever, and itΆs simply not feasible for us to be consuming more and more resources just to keep up with whatΆs hot at a given moment. If clothing was kept inside a closed loop, weΆd be able to easily pass garments on once weΆre bored of them — one manΆs trash is another manΆs treasure, as the saying goes. Plus, think of all that wardrobe space youΆd save.
Roberto Brundo / Highsnobiety.com
If you think this idea is far-fetched, just look at the market for hyped streetwear — itΆs about as circular as it gets. Guys buy clothes the day theyΆre released, and when theyΆre bored of them, theyΆre sold for equal — if not more — than what they paid for. It might not be framed as borrowing per se, but itΆs essentially the same thing. Stains and signs of wear arenΆt a big deal, because everyone understands that if you take good care of your gear, you can make your money back later — and then some.
Of course, this is very much “blue sky” thinking right now, but manufacturers are recognizing the need for circularity, so the future might be coming sooner than you think. Spotify, Netflix and Airbnb have shown that businesses built around using rather than owning can be utterly revolutionary, and while thereΆs a lot more potential headaches when it comes to renting and borrowing clothing, as it stands right now, the human race canΆt afford to just carry on making more throwaway T-shirts.
German chemist Michael Braungart and U.S. architect William McDonough have already set out a vision of a circular economy in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. ItΆs a must-read for anyone whoΆs interested in the subject.
For further reading, here are some mind-blowing facts thatΆll change the way you think about fashion.
