Circular fashion — reinvention in the fashion industry
It’s becoming increasingly common to hear the phrase “going shopping” among friends, family, and coworkers. Especially when phrases like “I don’t have anything to wear” arises increasingly frequently. I bet you have experienced it many times yourself as well. So have I. The daily struggle of deciding what to wear when going out, to school, to work, or really for any other occasion.
Many perceive this as a problem that needs a quick solution? The consumption of clothes has increased dramatically in recent years. And more importantly, our expectation of how quickly and frequently we need to find something new to wear has dramatically increased. Online shopping was first measured in weeks, then days and today companies are working to bring that down to hours.
The main driving force behind this is the cascade of new trends coming out of clothing stores every 3rd week or so. A further appeal of quickly produced clothes is that fashion trends change throughout the seasons and fast fashion clothing brands are quite affordable in many countries, meaning buying clothing is less of a commitment. With new trends appearing constantly (sometimes even 52 times a year in some fashion brands!), it becomes difficult to ignore them. As a matter of fact, people are changing their wardrobes so frequently now that fashion items usually are worn less than three times on average. Here’s the fact: The average American bought 68 pieces of clothing in 2019. That’s a lot of stuff to store in a wardrobe unless you throw a lot of your stuff out.
Consequently, fast fashion is sometimes difficult to evaluate as far as its environmental impact is concerned, especially seeing that the places of production usually are far away from the stores where you see the items. It also doesn’t help that Greenwashing has run rampant in the fashion industry recently. In response to climate changes and environmental care, it is becoming necessary to implement more sustainable approaches in our lifestyle and to reinvent fashion with sustainability in mind. Here’s a suggestion: Circular fashion can be a way to have a consideration upon these factors.
So what is circular fashion?
Clothes, shoes, and accessories are examples of circular fashion if they are designed, sourced, and produced with the intent to be used and circulated in society as long as possible in the optimally best condition. Fashion that follows a circular philosophy extends the lifecycle of clothes and accessories to head more towards being zero-waste. The process starts at the very beginning of the lifecycle of our clothes, so during the stage of designing. Let’s take a look at designing “new” circular fashion items and let’s begin with the design stage. The most important thing here is to make sure that the clothing item is made from appropriate materials to consider whether it will be long lasting, comfortable, and most importantly, of high quality, ensuring that it will not end up in the trash very quickly. We at Second Trend urge our community to buy high-quality items so that even if you’ve worn the item and don’t enjoy wearing it anymore, you can sell it to someone who would enjoy it afterward.
But how to keep these items circulating around instead of throwing them away as trash? There are two aspects of circular fashion I find particularly intriguing: Upcycling and recycling.
Let’s start with upcycling. This is a form of treatment of an item that would otherwise end up as waste but is instead reused to create new garments. Upcycling can be also called a “creative reuse” since people are inventive with adding a more artistic and environmental value to an old piece of clothing, as we’re seeing people be inspirational and creative. Examples can include everything from creating handbags out of denim jeans or making skirts out of wool sweaters. In fashion design, upcycling is a growing trend, helping to reduce textile waste as well as production waste. In fact, globally only 12% of the materials used to make clothing are recycled. This percentage is very low especially if we compare it with the recycling of plastic, paper or glass (respectively 29%, 66% and 27%). The clothing industry is, unfortunately, lagging quite far behind. A lot of the polyester we use today comes from recycled plastic bottles — for those of you who don’t know, polyester contains a high percentage of plastic. However, in the future, we could hope to have a higher percentage come from recycled clothes and textiles as well.
So in what ways can circular fashion be beneficial?
Let’s take a second to think about the benefits that circular fashion brings to the environment. In reality, clothing produced can end up as waste in a landfill, or even in lakes or rivers. The circular manufacturing of fashion puts waste reduction as the top priority, so the materials can be repurposed over and over again. Because materials are reused, we put less of a strain on harvesting new materials for our cloth production. In turn, this greatly reduces pollution. Circular clothing brands are definitely also in favour of using green energy for production, but the onus is still on them to reduce their footprint. Many designers and producers partner with companies that use renewable energy like wind and solar to produce their products. By doing so, they ensure that the entire process is more sustainable.
But what can you do as a customer to engage in a circular process?
Many of us think about what to do with old clothes and accessories that are still in good shape, but unfortunately, we don’t wear them anymore. Is there anything you can do with these beloved items? Definitely!
There is an option you may want to consider. For instance, you might consider transforming your clothes into new pieces. This will let your creativity flow since there are many options available: You can cut the material, paint the fabric with some cool patterns or mend it. If suddenly you think that you lack ideas or creativity, I have a tip for you: Pinterest. Be prepared to be amazed by the never-ending amount of ideas there, and quickly find multiple ways to prolong the lifecycle of your clothing in new, fun, and creative ways.
Another option to engage in a circular process is swapping the clothing you own with your friends or selling them to someone else who might get great usage out of them. If selling is your preferred choice, you can definitely explore some great and increasingly convenient mobile apps or marketplaces with secondhand fashion. Furthermore, while there, you can also find and buy some unique pieces of clothing secondhand. By doing this, your closet will be filled with quality clothes that will last for years — or can be handed over to someone else, giving life to the circularity.
Let me know your thoughts about the circular fashion concept!
