Vision of A Circular Economy For Fashion
Vision of A Circular Economy For Fashion
Vision of A Circular Economy For Fashion
a circular
economy
for fashion
A circular economy
is a bigger idea than
incrementally reducing the
harm of our current model.
It tackles the root causes of global challenges regenerates the environment. In delivering
such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the vision, the rights and equity of all people
pollution, while creating opportunities for better involved in the fashion industry are prioritised.
growth. It is underpinned by three principles, all The circular economy for fashion creates new
led by design: eliminate waste and pollution, keep opportunities for growth that are distributed,
products and materials in use, and regenerate diverse, and inclusive*.
natural systems.
This vision offers a target state to innovate
For fashion, it means ensuring that products towards. Realising it will require collaborative
(apparel, footwear, accessories) are used more, are efforts by industry and government, significant
made to be made again, and are made from safe investments, large-scale innovation, transparency
and recycled or renewable inputs. and traceability. Yet, by taking actions together to
get started today, it can scale fast.
A circular economy for fashion creates better
products and services for customers, contributes
to a resilient and thriving fashion industry, and The time to act is now.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
*These topics, while vital, are not the key focus of this vision statement and therefore are not defined in more detail
in this document. Research and actions on social fairness in the fashion industry is being undertaken extensively by
other organisations, for example, Fashion Revolution, The International Labour Organisation, and the UN Alliance for
Sustainable Fashion. Whilst more research is needed to fully understand the social implications and opportunities of
the transition to a circular economy, academia and organisations including BSR and Circular Apparel Innovation Factory
(CAIF) have begun to explore what those could be.
Used more • Business models that keep products at their • Businesses empower users with the necessary
highest value, like rental and recommerce, knowledge, tools, and services to maintain the
are the norm across the industry, decoupling physical and emotional appeal of their products.
its economic development from resource
consumption. • All products that are made are used. Excess
inventory is minimised and is never destroyed.
• Products are designed and manufactured to
last, and align with the business model that will • Where relevant, products are enhanced or
deliver them (for example, in rental models, replaced by virtual alternatives such as digital
considering the durability and ability to repair collections or virtual showrooms.
the products).
Made to be • Products and their materials are designed and • Products are in practice collected and sorted
manufactured to be disassembled so that they to be reused, remade, recycled, and — where
made again can be reused, remade, recycled, and - where relevant and after maximum use and cycling
relevant, and after maximum use and cycling - — composted:
safely composted. - Businesses contribute to support
infrastructure, commensurately with what
• Landfill, incineration, and waste to energy are they put on the market, to ensure their
not part of a circular economy. products are collected and reused, remade or
recycled in practice.
• Packaging is minimised, and is made from - Governments support effective collection
reusable, recyclable, or compostable materials, infrastructure, facilitate the establishment of
and is more broadly in line with Ellen related self-sustaining funding mechanisms,
MacArthur Foundation’s vision of a circular and provide an enabling regulatory and
economy for plastic (and equivalent for other policy landscape.
packaging materials).
Made from • The health of people and ecosystems is decoupled from the consumption of
protected by ensuring: finite resources:
safe and - Products and their materials are free from - The need for virgin resources is minimised
recycled or hazardous substances. by increasing the use of existing products
renewable - Production and use of products do not
discharge hazardous substances into
and materials.
- Production by-products are minimised,
inputs the environment. and where unavoidable, are treated as
- Microfibres that may cause harm are valuable materials.
prevented from reaching the environment, - Post-consumer recycled content is used both
either by design or collection. to help decouple from finite feedstocks and to
stimulate demand for collection and recycling.
• Production, supply chain practices, and - Where virgin input is needed it is from
technologies ensure the effective use of renewable feedstocks sourced using
resources, for example by optimising the use of regenerative production practices.
water, energy, chemicals, and materials. - The manufacturing, distribution, sorting,
and recycling of products is powered by
• Production (including inputs used during renewable energy.
manufacturing and processing) is fully
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
Materials in the circular economy can flow in Where relevant, materials can then enter
two cycles, the technical cycle and the biological biological loops such as composting or anaerobic
cycle. In the technical cycle products and their digestion to generate additional value, for
materials can continuously cycle through the example by increasing the health and carbon
system so that they can be maintained at their content of soil.
highest value at all times.
Circulation of materials is enabled by keeping
For fashion, all materials (including biological different technical materials separate or easily
materials such as wool or cotton) should first separable (as not doing so can hinder recycling),
be cycled through the technical cycle loops of as well as keeping biological materials and
reusing, repairing, remaking, and recycling. technical materials separate or easily separable
(as not doing so can hinder recycling
and composting).
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
REPAIR
REUSE
Operation by which a faulty or broken product or
Operation by which a product or component is used component is returned back to a usable state.
repeatedly and for long periods of time, for its original
purpose, without being significantly modified, remade, SOURCE:
or recycled. Products might need to be ‘prepared for BS 8001:2017 - ‘Framework for implementing the principles
reuse’, which often involves cleaning, repairs, or small of the circular economy in organizations – Guide’, based on
modifications so that they can continue to be used Section 2.56 Repair
throughout time and multiple users.
Notes:
SOURCE: • Repair is a key strategy to keep products in use and
BS 8001:2017 - ‘Framework for implementing the principles could be coupled with business models such as rental
and recommerce.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
Composting is the process by which materials biodegrade Design principle that enables the product to be taken apart
through the action of naturally occurring micro-organisms in such a way that allows components and materials to be
and do so to a large extent within a specified timeframe. reused, remade, or recycled.
The associated biological processes will yield CO2, water,
inorganic compounds, and biomass which leaves no visible SOURCE:
contaminants or toxic residues. ISO 14021:2016(en) - ‘Environmental labels and declarations
— Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental
Notes: labelling)’, based on Section 7.4.1 Usage of term
• The high resource, energy, and labour intensity of textile
production implies that a large amount of value is lost when
garments are composted. At the same time, textiles typically
contain very few nutrients that can enhance soils. RECYCLING
• The priority is therefore to keep products in use for as long as
possible through reusing, repairing, remaking, and recycling, The process of reducing a product back to its basic
before considering composting. For example, a product material level, reprocessing those materials, and using them
made from 100% compostable materials (including trims, in new products, components or materials.
threads and accessories unless they are removable) would
be designed to be durable so that it can be used for a long Notes:
time, repaired, the material remade or recycled, and when no • Recycling is an important part of a circular economy, yet the
longer possible returned back into the biosphere. loss of embedded labour and energy and the necessary costs
• Composting can take place in an industrial facility, through to make products from their raw materials mean that it is a
a controlled process managed by professionals, as well as lower value process than reuse and remaking.
in home-composting units, where the process is subject to • Scaling recycling will require technologically and
the householder’s skills and other environmental conditions. economically viable solutions. This can be supported by
Products can be certified2 as “Home Compostable for converging towards a selection of materials that can be
direct inclusion in a home composting bin along with other recycled in practice and developing them alongside highly
organic waste (compostable at 20-30°C for a maximum of 12 effective collection, sorting, and recycling processes for those
months with 90% level of biodegradation), or as “Industrially materials.
Compostable” (compostable at 58°C for a maximum of 6 • Where material blends are used, these can be separated to be
months with 90% level of biodegradation). either returned to the biosphere or continue to be cycled in
• Where products are designed to be compostable it should be the technical cycle as relevant. Developing new materials or
proven that these can be composted in practice and at scale, innovation of recycling processes will be required where no
for example there are opportunities and infrastructure to current ones can provide both the desired functionality and
collect, sort, disassemble, and compost them. In addition, all recyclability.
materials (for example, trims and threads) used in the product • Mechanisms for transparency and traceability integrated
must also meet the necessary requirements. in the design of clothing and aligned with processes across
• Any chemicals or production processes applied to the the value chain will support the identification of materials
product would need to take into account the ability to safely in the system to improve the output quality of the recycling
return biological nutrients to the environment after use. process.
• The term ‘biodegradable’ should not be confused with • Where products are designed to be recyclable it should be
‘compostable’. ‘Biodegradability’ designates a property which proven that these can be recycled in practice and at scale.
is needed - among others - to make a product compostable. • Recycling within a specific industry is the preferred option,
It does not indicate whether a product can in practice be to stimulate design for recyclability, materials innovation and
collected and composted following a managed process (for demand for recycled inputs. Where products are recycled
example, indicating how quickly and under what conditions into other industries or applications these should be designed
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
it can biodegrade). Given that ‘compostable’ is defined more to be recycled again and ultimately separated.
comprehensively and precisely by international standards, • Processes that turn materials into fuels or energy are not
compostable is therefore typically the preferable term considered recycling and are not part of a circular economy.
• In a circular economy, products and materials are circulated
at their highest value at all times. Within recycling, this
principle results in a general order of preference for recycling
3 According to the European Commission, SRMs are materials that can be recycled and then injected back into the economy as new raw materials.
(EU Circular Economy Action Plan 2015)
Notes:
• The term ‘regenerative’ is used to refer to methods that
regenerate natural systems (it does not refer to recycling WASTE
materials such as fibres).
• Regenerative production practices in agriculture can include Materials or substances that are discarded and no longer
agroforestry, permaculture, and managed grazing. used, typically resulting in landfill, incineration, or leakage
• Practices such as organic farming, which rely on naturally into the environment.
occurring substances rather than synthetic inputs, can be
considered as a means to move towards implementing Notes:
regenerative production practices. • In a circular economy, products, materials, and components
• The improvements achieved by regenerative production never become waste. Waste is ‘designed-out’ by intention.
practices are compared to a baseline of conventional • Through redesign, materials or substances that would
practices which, in the example of agriculture, rely on, inter become waste are eliminated, become feedstock for another
alia, inputs from finite resources and a small number of production process, or are safely returned to the biosphere.
crop varieties, and have impacts such as soil degradation,
pollution, and biodiversity loss.
• Regenerative production practices used on depleted land
have the potential to improve natural ecosystems.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2020
4 Post-consumer recycled content is material generated by households or by commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in their role as end-users
of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. (Source: ISO 14021:2016(en) - ‘Environmental labels and declarations —
Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling)’, based on Section 7.8.1. Usage of terms)
5 Pre-consumer recycled content, also referred to as post-industrial recycled content, includes materials diverted from the waste stream during
a manufacturing process. (Source: ISO 14021:2016(en) - ‘Environmental labels and declarations — Self-declared environmental claims (Type II
environmental labelling)’, based on Section 7.8.1. Usage of terms)
6 Apparel-to-apparel recycling refers to the recycling of old garments into new ones, after they can no longer be reused or remade.
TRACEABILITY
TRANSPARENCY
To make fashion circular, businesses, governments, innovators, and citizens need to join
forces. Make Fashion Circular is supported by Philanthropic Partners Laudes Foundation,
Mava, and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, awards funds by the Postcode
Dream Trust.