Seven Things You Should Know About Circular Fashion

We’ve talked about a circular economy on the Kreussler Inc. blog in the past, and today we’re going to cover circular fashion. Circular fashion combines both sustainability and circularity,” says Dr. Anna Brismarto. “It can be defined as clothes, shoes or accessories that are designed, sourced, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulated responsibly and effectively in society for as long as possible in their most valuable form, and hereafter return safely to the biosphere when no longer of human use.” Circular fashion is essential in the future to help us stop waste.

Two main principles of circular fashion: how garments are designed, produced, and processed and how garments are used and reused to keep garments circulating. 

7 things to know about circular fashion

1. Fifty percent of the responsibility is on brands and fifty percent on consumers.
2. Future generations will have to deal with a scarcity of resources and the consequences of consumerism in a way that we never have due to current wasteful habits.
3. A new 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge has launched, with over 60 founding fashion brands.
4. In the global crisis, sustainability is falling by the wayside. We need to step up our personal choices.
5. Startups are creating ways to recycle old fabric into new fabric. Learn about Evrnu
6. Brand’s circular approach needs to include the entire value chain.
7. Clothing rentals provide a garment sharing option and decrease the demand for new clothing production.

If you are looking for information on brands that are sustainable Good on You is a website with detailed information on brands – they also have an app to search for brands. “The Good On You ethical brand rating system gives you the power to make better choices as an informed shopper. Choices that reflect your commitment to doing better by the planet, people, and animals.” It’s a strict rating system with Stella McCartney and Eileen Fisher, two sustainable brands, rated ‘good’ not ‘great.’

Reevaluating your own choices is powerful. Adopting a circular ethos into your life could have a more significant impression than you think. 

“The future of fashion is circular. It has to be,” says Stella McCartney #circularfashion Click To Tweet

Here are some ideas to create your circular fashion ethos:

1. Shop your closet. The most sustainable clothes are the ones in your closet.
2. Shop with brands whose values reflect your own.
3. Change the way you assign value to what you buy and wear.
4. Implement creative problem-solving instead of doing what you’ve always done.
5. Shop local thrift and consignment shops.
6. Repair well-loved items.
7. Properly clean and store garments to give them a longer life.
8. Clean out your closet: Hand-down garments to friends or family or donate them.

‘Buy less, buy better’ should be our new motto when thinking about our wardrobes. Circular fashion must be part of our plan, not an afterthought.

Follow the four R’s of fashion to make better personal choices: reduce, reuse, repair, and resale.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can update your relationship with clothes and develop a circular fashion mindset.