The priorities of significant numbers of clothing producers and brands extend beyond merely keeping up with the ongoing conversations around fashion sustainability – they are also deeply engaged in circular fashion practices. 

The term “circular fashion” refers to an approach to clothing manufacture that seeks to minimise waste and extend the life of apparel. Such interventions as the use of sustainable material, and the encouragement of reuse, sharing, and leasing, align with the principles of the “circular economy”. 

However, a new report has asked serious questions about circular fashion. An article published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainability, entitled “The Emperor’s old clothes: a critical review of circular fashion in gray literature”, even went as far as stating that despite governments and industry having embraced it as a solution, circular fashion “does not stand up to the slightest scrutiny”. 

Circular fashion criticised for its “major flaws” as far as sustainability is concerned 

The article in question relates to a study that evaluated 20 key reports from non-academic industry publications. Reports of this nature are otherwise known as “gray literature”, which the piece’s authors said had “been foundational to describing and promoting circular economy and circular fashion.” 

However, according to the authors – Talia Hussain, Ksenija Kuzmina, and Mikko Koria of Loughborough University London’s Institute for Creative Futures – such gray literature “is rarely subjected to critical scrutiny, allowing evidence, claims and methods to go unexamined.” 

The research goes on to state that in its present form, circular fashion has “major flaws” when it comes to addressing sustainability. The report said that circular fashion was built on unrealistic projections and industry rhetoric, instead of substantive economic and environmental solutions. 

What did this latest study discover about circular fashion? 

Arguing that circular fashion narratives needed to be critically reassessed, and alternatives explored that prioritised systematic change over profitability, the authors put forward the following key findings: 

• The economic assumptions around circular fashion are flawed, with circular business models (CBMs) such as resale and rental generating lower profit margins than the sales of new products 
• The fashion sector’s tendency towards overproduction is ignored – an omission that lessens the ability of circular fashion to tackle the root causes of waste 
• Policy recommendations in relation to circular fashion are misguided, with reports relying on business jargon and inconsistent definitions of “value chain” 
• Labour concerns are overlooked, the authors pointing out that a transition to lower-margin circular models is unlikely to bring about better working conditions or wages for garment workers 
• The discourse around sustainability is controlled by the industry, global leadership organisations and consulting firms like McKinsey & Co being free to shape circular fashion policy without being subject to rigorous scrutiny. 

“After circular fashion fails… we will be left with a load of old problems” 

Dr Hussain, the lead author of the study, commented: “The fashion industry faces many sustainability challenges which it is, unfortunately, not tackling successfully.” 

She added that circular fashion had “absorbed the majority of policymaking attention and resources for research. After circular fashion fails, and it will, we will be left with a load of old problems and no new ideas. 

“We need to invest in research, development, and testing of new ideas now.” 

To learn more about how our fashion, luxury, and lifestyle marketing agency can support your brand’s delivery of digital excellence – and with it, the achievement of sustained growth – please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Skywire London team.

Photo by Ethan Bodnar on Unsplash