Circular Economy news and archive

Shein looks to become a global leader in sourcing deadstock fabric

Fashion and beauty e-tailer Shein is partnering with circular economy technology company Queen of Raw to utilise its technology to responsibly source excess fabric inventory from other brands and retailers to help mitigate fashion’s waste crisis. The initiative is part of the global fashion brand’s plans to become a leader in sourcing deadstock...

BusinessFeatured

Report analyses if circular economy can create good jobs, finds bias

A new joint report by global impact organisation Circle Economy, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) programme at the World Bank followed the question if a circular economy could create good jobs. According to estimates, a total of 7 to 8 million new jobs could be created by increasing the...

Fashion |Interview Featured

Is the footwear market ready for renewables?

UPM Biochemicals is a part of a Finnish company that makes eco-friendly materials from wood. Last year they committed to spend 750 million euros to build the world’s first industry scale bio-refinery in Germany. The factory will make chemicals from wood instead of oil, replacing fossil fuel with renewable sources and sustainable materials. They...

Fashion Featured

5 ways to drive workplace sustainability say experts at Thr3efold event Propel

Thr3efold is all about connection. Launched by founder Jessica Kelly in 2021, the platform provides a resource database to help brands connect the dots and build strategies to help them meet their sustainability goals. Last month it staged Propel at the Arlo Hotel in downtown Manhattan, its first in-person event since the pandemic started, which...

Business

Ikea’s Make it Circular Challenge invites designers and creative entrepreneurs

The Make it Circular Challenge is a partnership between Amsterdam-based non-profit organisation What Design Can Do (WDCD) and the Ikea Foundation, an organisation of home furnishing giant Ikea that tackles inequality. For the fourth time, the challenge calls on innovators worldwide to submit solutions that tackle climate change through circular...

Business

Google launches new accelerator for circular economy startups

Tech giant Google has launched a new accelerator program that is geared to support technology startups and non-profit organisations based in North America and Asia Pacific that further a circular economy. The Google for Startups Accelerator builds on Google’s Climate Change Accelerator, which has supported companies like 75F, AmpUp, Carbon Limit...

ManagementFeatured

Gucci joins Ellen MacArthur Foundation as a strategic partner

Italian fashion house Gucci has announced a new strategic partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to accelerate its vision of a circular economy and regenerative agriculture for the future. Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a charity committed to creating a circular economy that delivers better outcomes for people and the environment and...

Fashion Featured

Timberland unveils first full circular shoe and expands take-back programme

Timberland has unveiled the Timberloop Trekker City Hiker, the brand's first footwear designed for full circularity, alongside the news that it is expanding its product take-back programme, which launched in the US earlier this year to include markets in Europe. New for spring/summer 2022, the Timberloop Trekker City Hiker has been designed with...

BusinessFeatured

Mango teams up with I:CO to advance circular economy strategy

Spanish fashion group Mango is teaming up with I:CO, a supplier of global solutions for the collection, reuse and recycling of used clothing and footwear, to localise and improve collection donations from its customers in Europe. The move is to advance the retailer’s circular economy strategy and will see Mango working with I:CO, a subsidiary of...

Fashion Featured

Lululemon expands ‘Like New’ resale programme

Fitness brand Lululemon is expanding its ‘Like New’ recommerce programme to all its US stores from April 22, following a successful pilot in Texas and California in 2021. The ‘Like New’ trade-in and resale programme, allows consumers to trade in pre-loved Lululemon clothing in exchange for an e-gift card at one of more than 390 participating US...

BusinessFeatured

Circular business models offer a 700 billion US dollar opportunity

New research from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reveals that circular business models, in sectors such as rental and resale, have the potential to grow from 3.5 percent of the global fashion market today to 23 percent by 2030, representing a 700 billion US dollar opportunity. Currently, the rental, resale, repair, and remaking sectors are...

Fashion

The North Face launching circular re-commerce platform

Outdoor brand The North Face is transforming into a circular business model with the launch of a new circular e-commerce platform that will re-sell, repair and recycle clothing to keep it out of landfill. The circular re-commerce platform, The North Face Renewed, will launch as a pilot scheme in Germany on May 4. The initiative will not only...