circular economy news and archive

8 by Yoox launches sustainable capsule collection

Yoox has launched a new sustainable capsule from its private label, 8 by Yoox, called the Circular Embroidery Collection. The capsule collection features previously unsold organic cotton t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies that are then uncycled and covered with positive messages, colorful motifs, and embroidery. Each of the designs features...

Feb 22, 2021

Fashion

Recycling fibres and textiles could revolutionise sustainable fashion

Fashion’s next generation of sustainable fibres are pushing toward a circular and greener future for one of the world’s most polluting industries. Studies show the fashion industry is responsible for approximately 10 percent of global emissions, a reckoning that has fuelled start-ups to innovate a long overdue sector. From new biodegradable...

Feb 4, 2021

Fashion

2021 to be the year of circular sneaker

Sneakers are not typically shoes that are designed to last or even be repaired. Fabric shoes tend to have a shorter lifespan than leather, with the majority of people discarding their old trainers once they are out worn out. While the idea of a circular sneaker is not new, it has yet to be adopted in a mainstream way like sustainable clothing....

Dec 31, 2020

Fashion

Fashion companies including Burberry and H&M sign circular economy pact

A number of leading fashion companies including Burberry, Stella McCartney, H&M and Inditex have signed a pact committing to working towards a circular economy in response to the widespread impact of Covid-19. They join a number of policymakers, CEOs, and other influential figures calling on businesses and governments across the world to join...

Jun 15, 2020

Business

Earth Day Focus: Circularity calls for unprecedented collaboration

A circular economy for fashion provides an exciting opportunity for an industry that is truly sustainable for people, planet, and profit. However, to realize this potential, the traditional systems with which we design, produce, consume, and dispose of fashion must fundamentally change. A circular economy requires a more complex and...

May 8, 2020

Business

Earth Day focus: The end-of-life paradigm

The circular economy’s defining characteristic is the reprocessing of materials at the end-of-life with the purpose of keeping valuable natural resources in circulation and alleviating strain on exploited environments. The fashion industry has seen an increasing uptake in waste solutions including utilizing recycled fibers, resale and repair...

May 4, 2020

Fashion

Earth Day Focus: The future of fashion is circular

Since the industrial revolution, the fashion industry has existed as a linear business model driven by the purpose of making and selling, endlessly. It’s the same “take, make, waste” concept that most manufacturing operates with – where natural resources are taken from the Earth, made into products and then disposed of when we no longer want...

Apr 30, 2020

Fashion

Earth Day Focus: From sustainability to circularity

In the last decade, sustainability in fashion has evolved from niche to trend and onward to global imperative. It has become the industry’s favorite buzzword while infiltrating customers’ vocabulary, corporate social responsibility strategies. and headlines of articles in mainstream publications including Vogue, Forbes and The New York Times....

Apr 16, 2020

Fashion

Introducing Fibersort, a post-consumer textile sorting machine looking to clean up the industry

A cutting edge machine looking to revolutionise textile to textile recycling by automatically sorting large volumes of post-consumer garments is now up and running in Wormerveer, just outside of Amsterdam. The Fibersort machine, a Near Infrared (NIR) based technology, is capable of sorting around 900kg of post-consumer textiles per hour in 45...

Mar 12, 2020

Business

Something old, something borrowed: the rise of resale and rental in fashion

Fast fashion brands drop new collections as often as every two weeks, illustrating the fast cycle of manufacturing, buying and disposing of which drives the fashion industry’s wastefulness and polluting impact. In fact, it is estimated that more than half of the fast fashion produced is disposed of in under a year. But it appears that the “...

Jan 31, 2020

Retail OPINION

One Consignor's experience selling clothes on The RealReal

It took me the most of a year to be convinced that parting with my beloved often unworn designer items online was the best method of participating in the circular economy while also freeing up closet space. Choosing from among the many resale platforms involved comparing the product assortment on each to determine if my pieces would be in the...

Jan 23, 2020

Business

What does the EU's Green Deal mean for the textile industry?

The European textile industry has to waste less and recycle more after being highlighted as a key sector by the European Commission in its industrial strategy for a transition to a circular economy. With the Commission's new plan, voluntary green initiatives by the textile industry could become legally binding in the future. In its plan for a...

Dec 13, 2019