Circularity news and archive

Most consumers know cheap fashion isn’t sustainable—so why do they keep buying it?

Despite growing awareness of the fashion industry's negative impact, consumers continue to purchase affordable, trendy clothes from fast fashion brands and retail giants. Why is that? How can these two realities coexist? The inspiration for this piece comes from a recent article published by Dutch investigative journalism platform De...

Business

Global Fashion Agenda publishes update of its GFA Monitor on sustainability

Ahead of COP29, the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has published its annual GFA Monitor for the third time, highlighting advancements and ongoing challenges in terms of progress on how the fashion industry can reach net positivity. The report is produced in partnership with GFA’s impact partners, the Apparel Impact Institute, Ellen MacArthur...

The Gen Z dilemma: eco-conscious but addicted to fast fashion

One of the most-read articles on FashionUnited in October was about unauthorised Shein outlets -- pop-up shops that pretend to be by the Chinese internet giant but are simply riding on the brand's popularity. Pop-up shops opened in Dutch cities such as Arnhem, Utrecht and Rotterdam, offering clothes at extremely low prices. These shops have been...

The future of fashion: is less more?

A confession. My original research question was, “What if the fashion industry simply made less clothes?” (Over)production, reducing speed and seasons could be the answer to almost everything?!, was my thought process. As in: for sustainability in the clothing sector and more broadly: in the pursuit of a circular economy (see text frame below)....

Business

‘A circular economy for the textile industry offers opportunities, but also needs action’

A recent report looks at the chances and challenges of a circular textile industry in the Netherlands, thus providing interesting input for other countries as well. The report titled ‘Towards a Dutch Circular Textile Industry’ was published by Invest-NL, an investment company that finances sustainable and innovative projects. While a circular...

BusinessFeatured

Can a 250-million-euro ‘Circularity Fund’ make Shein circular?

It may seem strange indeed to hear ultra-fast fashion giant Shein boasting of circularity measures: The company has launched a new 200 million euros “Circularity Fund” in the EU and the UK plus a further 50 million euros for “broader ESG measures”, planning to invest a total of 250 million euros in circularity over the next five years. However,...

Business

Ellen MacArthur Foundation and leading brands start The Fashion ReModel to pursue a circular approach

How to make money in fashion without making new clothes? That is ultimately the question that needs to be solved by the industry in view of the current take-make-waste models that churn out 100 billion (!) pieces of new clothing each year only to be discarded after a few wears. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has announced a new initiative called...

Fashion Featured

Ebay unveils new resell feature to transform recommerce experience

Online marketplace Ebay, which has been placing itself at the forefront of the recommerce clothing market, has unveiled a new ‘click-to-resell’ feature that will make it easier for sellers to list their pre-loved clothing with just “a few clicks of a button”. The new ‘resell on Ebay’ feature has been designed to transform the way consumers can...

Fashion

Asics launches most circular shoe ever

Japanese sportswear brand Asics has launched its most circular performance running shoe to date, designed to be remade at the end of its life without comprising on quality or performance. The Asics Nimbus Mirai running shoe has been designed with recycling in mind and launches with a new returns programme to encourage runners to give back the...

BusinessFeatured

EU-funded New Cotton Project ends with eight key insights

The EU-funded New Cotton Project was launched in late 2020 and brought together twelve players from across the value chain: Adidas and H&M on the brand side, Finnish bio tech company Infinited Fiber, Aalto University and University of Applied Sciences Xamk, sustainability organisation Fashion for good, textile mills Frankenhuis (Netherlands) and...

Retail|In Pictures

Arc’teryx's newest UK flagship focuses on circularity services

Canadian high-performance outdoorwear brand Arc’teryx places circularity front and centre in its newly opening UK flagship in Covent Garden. The relocated and upsized flagship, located at 41-42 King Street, marks the brand’s biggest store in Europe, spanning 8,000 square feet. It offers Arc’teryx’s range of technical gear, footwear, and...

Business|REPORT Featured

Circle Economy study: How to combat the steadily falling global circularity rate

Together with business consultancy Deloitte, global impact organisation Circle Economy Foundation has published its “Circularity Gap Report 2024” today, which highlights how the global circularity rate is currently falling from 9.1 percent to 7.2 percent despite the number of discussions, debates and articles related to the circular economy...