Toward circular economy of fashion

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and solutions emerging when fashion brands develop and test circular economy solutions within their existing business models. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a 34-month case study in a global fashion brand, which launched a new in-store product take-back initiative. Findings The results indicate that fashion brands need to cope with multiple challenges in the process of developing circular business models in the organization, including: diverging perspectives of value and unclear success criteria, poor alignment with existing strategy, limited internal skills and competences, and limited consumer interest. Research limitations/implications The results of this paper are grounded in a single case study and thus limitations associated with broad generalizations apply. In addition, the paper only investigated one aspect of circularity, namely, product take-back and did not investigate design for circularity, product reuse, recycle and other circularity related issues. Originality/value The findings derive from practical experiences of a fashion brand implementing an in-store product take-back system in the existing business model. The study reveals new insights into the actual process of making circular fashion operable.

How fashion can achieve sustainable development through a circular economy and stakeholder engagement: A systematic literature review

“…• Closing resource loops: this cluster includes CF practices implemented with an aim to keep materials in the economy, Closed-loop recycling, a process where unwanted resources and products are collected, recycled, and then used again to make the same product it came from, and thus to create a circular flow of resources • Recycling for manufacturing a same product type (e.g., recycling polyester fabrics to polyester yarn for the same fashion item production) 42 (44.7%) Al Faruque et al, 2019;Bloomfield & Borstrock, 2018;Bocken et al, 2017;Bukhari et al, 2018;Cattermole, 2018;Corvellec & Stål, 2019;Daddi et al, 2019;do Amaral et al, 2018;Earley, 2017;Earley, 2019;Fischer & Pascucci, 2017;Franco, 2017;Goldsworthy & Ellams, 2019;Haslinger et al, 2019;Holtström et al, 2019;Hu et al, 2018;Hussain, 2018;Hvass & Pedersen, 2019;Karell & Niinimäki, 2019;Koszewska, 2018;Leal Filho et al, 2019;Määttänen et al, 2019;…”

“…• Mending clothing • Donating used clothing for second-hand usage 22 (23.4%) Bukhari et al, 2018;Camacho-Otero et al, 2019;Cattermole, 2018;Diddi & Yan, 2019;Fischer & Pascucci, 2017;Holtström et al, 2019;Hussain, 2018;Hvass & Pedersen, 2019;Kjaer et al, 2019;Koszewska, 2018;Machado et al, 2019;Magdalena & Dagna, 2019;Norris, 2019a;Pal et al, 2019;Pedersen et al, 2019;Popescu, 2018;Raebild & Bang, 2017;Sandin & Peters, 2018;Shaw & Williams, 2018;Smith et al, 2017;Staicu & Pop, 2018;Tunn et al, 2019 Narrowing resource flows (18, 19.1%) CF practices related to increasing resource efficiency, by using fewer resources per product…”

“…• More attractive alternatives exist than CE offerings in terms of product value and/or profitability 23 (21.1%) Bocken et al, 2017;Bukhari et al, 2018;Camacho-Otero et al, 2019;Diddi & Yan, 2019;Fischer & Pascucci, 2017;Franco, 2017;Holtström et al, 2019;Hussain, 2018;Hvass & Pedersen, 2019;Kjaer et al, 2019;Leal Filho et al, 2019;Moorhouse & Moorhouse, 2017;Norris, 2019a;Norris, 2019b;Pal et al, 2019;Sandvik & Stubbs, 2019;Singh et al, 2019;Stål & Corvellec, 2018;Valentine et al, 2017;Vehmas et al, 2018;Wanassi et al, 2018;Weber, 2019 Knowledge barriers Lack of knowledge and awareness about the concept and principles of CE from both internal and external fashion stakeholders, and a lack of skills and know-how in exercising CE in business, were mentioned as another key challenges for creating CF…”

“…• Lack of capability from policy makers in collecting sufficient data for making applicable and feasible CE-driving policies as key barriers 6 (5.5%) Bocken et al, 2017;Daddi et al, 2019;Leal Filho et al, 2019;Norris, 2019a;Pal et al, 2019;Weber, 2019 Internal ( • Other corporate missions that are in higher priority than CE missions 14 (12.9%) Bocken et al, 2017;Franco, 2017;Han et al, 2017;Hussain, 2018;Hvass & Pedersen, 2019;Karell & Niinimäki, 2019;Norris, 2019b;Pal et al, 2019;Pedersen et al, 2019;Sandvik & Stubbs, 2019;Staicu & Pop, 2018;Stål & Corvellec, 2018;Tunn et al, 2019; Total 109 (100%)…”

Trends in the Fashion Industry. The Perception of Sustainability and Circular Economy: A Gender/Generation Quantitative Approach

“…Among the aforementioned changes, the attention to sustainability has undoubtedly been one of the most important trends in the last recent years [30]. Closely connected to the theme of sustainability is that of circularity: new initiatives based on a circular economy have arisen recently in the global market [31,32]. For example, the Ellen McArthur Foundation has created the "Circular Fibers Initiative", which has been the beginning of sensibilization to the circular economy for textiles.…”