120,000. That’s the number of tons of post-industrial textile waste produced in the United States annually.
Establishing a true circular economy for the apparel industry could help lessen the impact. But while some big fashion brands are dabbling in these processes — through clothing collection initiatives such as Girlfriend Collective’s ReGirlfriend program or recommerce sites such as Eileen Fisher’s Renew — this concept is far from mainstream.
“The fashion industry is not taking responsibility in the form of financial investments at the scale that is necessary,” said Conor Hartman, COO and vice president of business development at Circ, a tech company that produces recycled textiles for the fashion industry.
“If you look at all the major brands that are out there and talking about changing the landscape, very few of them are actually investing in solutions like ours, and putting their money where their mouths are. We’d like to see more of that.”
Other factors that will come into play for circular fashion in 2021: practicing the future we want right now; investing in technology; and supporting legislation that would support a circular economy.The fashion industry is not taking responsibility in the form of financial investments at the scale that is necessary.
“There are fashion companies that are starting to walk the talk.” Read more…
