At the root of fashion’s most pressing problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution sits overproduction and overconsumption. Each year, an estimated 100 billion garments are purchased, and 92 million tonnes are thrown out. The truth is, we’re making and buying more than the earth can sustain. Motivated by the threat of limited resources and a growing concern among consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases, brands are looking to circular fashion as a solution to fashion’s most pressing problems.
If fashion could achieve a closed-loop system, nothing would ever go to the landfill. Clothes would just be endlessly looped through textile and garment factories, stores, your closet, secondhand retailers, textile recyclers, and then back to textile factories again. The problem, however, is that we currently can’t do that.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, less than 1% of the fiber used to produce clothing is recycled to make new clothing. Garments that are recycled are mainly downcycled (recycling something so that the resulting product is of a lower value than the original item) into items like insulation, mattress stuffing, and industrial wipes, which surprise, surprise, ultimately ends up in the landfill. Recycled clothing typically comes from plastic water bottles, not old textiles.
In this episode of the Crash Course Fashion podcast, SFF founder Brittany Sierra chats with industry vet and For Days founder Kristy Caylor about the root of overproduction, whether durability or recyclability is more important when designing for circular systems and, why understanding the psychology of human behavior is key to customer participation in the circular economy, how For Days engages its customer in the conversation without greenwashing. And, true to the name, Kristy also shares crash course lessons on how to connect and effectively market to Gen Z in a way that aligns with your values, communicates your message, and speaks to the digitally-savvy consumer group.
