How can we scale circular fashion?

On the previous Friday (12 October 2018), I had the opportunity to attend Circular Drinks: Scaling Circular Fashion, an event organised by Forum for the Future. This was a forum and panel discussion featuring 3 panellists — Raye Padit, Wong Xin-Yi and Kia Jiehui — about making fashion circular and how businesses can close this loop in different stages of production. The panellists addressed R&D for sustainable materials, novel business models and redesigning apparel. However, I was most interested in the panel’s take on the rise and proliferation of circular fashion.

The forum

The presentation divided the fashion industry into 3 generic parts: Landscape, Regime and Niche. The Landscape is the overarching, long-run megatrends and civic values, the Regime is the current status quo or norm, while the Niche is the social-technological innovations that are bubbling in different pockets of the industry.

Image credit: Forum For The Future

The current Regime is characterised by a large consumption of fast fashion. This is the result of pressures from the Landscape as increasingly affluent societies are purchasing lots of clothes and prizing outward appearance as a sign of high socioeconomic status. In addition, the Landscape places mounting pressure on the Regime as land and water scarcity have made it increasingly difficult to grow cotton. Furthermore, urbanisation of many rural cotton farmers has led to a strong decrease in cotton suppliers.

On an encouraging note, there are innovations bubbling from the Niche that are accelerating the adoption of sustainable fashion practices within the works of circular fashion. Wong Xin-Yi, Sustainability Manager of H&M, revealed that H&M has dedicated an entire research facility to exploring new methods to recycle mixed-material fabrics, a feat which has yet to be done. This was exciting news to me especially because the recycling of mixed fabrics is highly energy intensive, costly and impractical. Furthermore, real change happens when the pressure from the Landscape combines with innovation from the Niche to precipitate a change in the system and inspire new norms in the Regime.

The Landscape — Regime — Niche model was a refreshing perspective on the forces that perpetuate the closed fashion loop. It helped me evaluate the multiplicity of effects that are manifested on the circular fashion industry. However, like always, there remains the perennial question: What can we as individuals do about it?

I believe that we need to consciously ask ourselves if we genuinely need that new blouse, t-shirt or skirt. Avoid purchasing if you can, but what if you really need to get something? Say you need a suit for an event. Why not try borrowing from friends and family or even renting clothes? Raye Padit, the founder of The Fashion Pulpit, talked about how people buy some clothes for a one-off event and never wear it ever again. Renting or swapping are much more economical options, reducing the amount of clutter in your wardrobe and lowering waste produced. This is another component of the Niche that has been popping up and will hopefully gain traction soon to replace the idea that we have to buy and own something to wear it.

If you really do need to buy something, however, go for pre-loved items. Buying second-hand has been made easier by the rising number of thrift stores, greater awareness of thrifting and online platforms that facilitate the purchase of pre-loved items like Carousell and Amazon. I discontinued my membership with Zalora and Topshop to begin my personal mission to step away from purchasing new clothes. In addition, getting pieces repaired whenever possible, rather than just discarding them increases its lifespan significantly. Connected Threads Asia, also founded by Padit, has a list of brick-and-mortar stores to purchase second-hand items, to send in clothes for mending and places to upcycle.

Even if you are buying a new article of clothing, Kia Jiehui, Programme Manager for Circular Leap Asia, recommends us taking a step back to ask ourselves a few questions: What is this material? Is it made from recycled textiles or sustainably sourced fabrics like bamboo or hemp fibres? Are the dyes on the fabric toxic? Will I get a lot of use out of it?

As an individual, you are also part a household that produces waste, including textiles. According to a 2017 National Environment Agency report, 150,800 tonnes of leather and textile waste was generated in a single year, with only 6% recycled. It is about time that we rethink our relationship with waste. We need to recognise that these discarded fabrics are the raw materials for recycling and can breathe new life into the fabrics. There are ways for you to sell clothes that no one would take. For instance, sell them to upcycling companies that take scrap fabrics and make them into new items. Your neighbourhood karang gunis also provide a great service. On the retail front, H&M collects fabrics and rewards recyclers 15% discounts on the next purchase from their H&M Conscious collection.

This was a really empowering afternoon, knowing that there are so many things that I can do individually as a consumer. It may not be easy, but the knowledge that so many other people are fighting the same fight gives me solace and strength to continue to shape our fashion industry into a circular one.