Sustained Intention Critical to Shaping Circularity in Fashion Sector, Argues New Report

A diagnosis of systemic barriers and enablers within the fashion sector in the shift towards circularity and a more just, fair and regenerative system by Forum for the Future’s ‘Enabling Systemic Circularity in Fashion’ or ESCF project has identified eight insights that are critical for the industry’s transformation.

• The project explored the opportunities and barriers in the sector’s advancement towards circularity.
• While the project partners are located globally, it retained a greater focus on Asia given that a large majority of textile and fashion production is situated in the region.
• This report breaks down the insights, innovative ways of working and the next steps for ESCF. Progress can be found through a ‘how’ that will not come about on its own and depends on sustained intention to shape a fashion sector that can thrive within the potential of circular resource systems.

KEY FINDINGS

1. Despite the urgency for change, stakeholders are not aligned on critical goals or the actions to achieve them. Misalignment and a lack of clarity concerning overarching goals between actors and value chain tiers hinders collaboration.
2. The interconnecting costs of the transition towards a low-impact and ultimately regenerative sector are unevenly distributed across the value chain. The unequal spread of risk slows the pace of innovation, leads to defensive mindsets and frustrates progress
3. Finance and policymakers need to ensure that dialogue with critical value chain actors is inclusive and effective. Large brands and retailers are often well represented. However, the voices of Tier 2, 3 and 4 suppliers or other stakeholders like recyclers are less heard and included.
4. There is unexplored value in ‘safe’ spaces for challenging conversations among different value chain actors. Creating ‘safe’ spaces that allow such critical discussions to be held and builds up trust, respect and understanding and unlocks genuinely inclusive creativity.
5. The industry needs to rethink engagement with consumers as key actors in the value chain. The sector cannot wait for market demand for sustainable products to grow if the sector is to transform to a circular one with the urgency required.
6. There is a hunger within the sector for creativity, imagination and collaboration with one another— particularly among progressive manufacturers. Business-as usual approaches, including how value chains collaborate and communicate with each other, will not deliver the requisite shift for a just and regenerative value chain.
7. Achieving circularity means going beyond technology and business models. Intangible innovations, such as those that shift relationships, ways of working, and behaviours will play a key part in unlocking change.
8. The innovation process benefits from systems thinking. Without improving our understanding of systemic factors, we risk shallow or piecemeal changes that can achieve short-term gains but produce unintended negative consequences or do not produce the long-term impact needed.

To illustrate how these insights can be used as platforms for greater change, recommendations for each are provided.

‘PROTOTYPE’ INNOVATIONS: In addition, three ‘prototype’ innovations were developed through in-person sessions with the partner cohort, each innovation developed according to a commonly held vision for what a truly circular future may look like and what change it will require.

1. Cross-Functional Regulatory Alliance: Reconceptualising industry coalitions and initiatives to embed inclusivity and challenge norms, ensuring all voices are heard and regulation is stronger for it.
2. Value Material Royalties: A radical approach in recognising value in fibres and materials, bringing consumers closer to circularity and how we might conceive of ensuring every stakeholder benefits from circular models.
3. Circular Fashion Hub: A geographically proximate closed loop fashion system, enabling the rapid development, iteration and piloting of innovation, and an eco-system that incubates and grows new entrants while achieving regional and business sustainability goals.

THE CONTEXT: The urgency of the climate, ecological and social challenges we face today demand that circular innovations scale and achieve their full potential. Yet, despite the heavy investments into new technologies, many innovations fail or do not scale.

• ESCF is the collective effort of a group of textile and apparel stakeholders who share an interest in identifying and better understanding the enabling conditions and systemic barriers that support or hinder the successful scaling of circular innovations in the fashion industry.

Project objectives

1. Identify and deepen understanding of the systemic factors that either support the success of circular innovations or hinder them from scaling and mainstreaming.
2. Conceptualise three innovations with the potential to unlock systemic barriers within the value chain.
3. Model new ways of collaboration within value chain partners

Project team: The project team is led by Forum for the Future ('Forum') with the support of VDE Consultancy, Clarice Garcia and Fashion for Good.

• It was supported by Flotilla Foundation and Spronck Foundation.

FORUM FOR THE FUTURE is a leading international sustainability organisation. For more than 25 years it has been working in partnership with business, governments and civil society to accelerate the shift towards a just and regenerative future in which both people and the planet thrive.

ENABLING SYSTEMIC CIRCULARITY IN FASHION (ESCF) explores how systemic factors—such as power dynamics and uneven relationships between actors within the supply chain—are currently blocking progress, and how to develop new approaches to overcome these factors in order to unlock circularity’s potential.

• ESCF is a collaborative undertaking led by Forum for the Future in partnership with a committed cohort of brands, retailers and manufacturers from four continents, covering multiple supply chain tiers.

PARTNER ORGANISATIONS Alpine Group/Paradise Textiles, Crystal International Group, Epic Group, Fashion for Good, GAP Inc., Lenzing, MAS Holdings, Piping Hot, Shahi Exports, TESCO, Textile Exchange, Reformation, Yee Chain.

WHAT THEY SAID:

Our natural environment is under threat from overlapping and cascading impacts. Urgently, we need to think differently about the industries contributing to rising levels of pollutants, waste and emissions that are causing ocean and planetary health breakdown. For fashion, the impacts are stark: between 16-35% of microplastics released to oceans globally are from synthetic textiles; fibre production (natural or synthetic) consumes and pollutes billions of cubic metres of water annually. Limiting these impacts and transitioning the fashion industry to one that contributes to the regeneration of our natural ecosystems requires recognising the structural factors of the industry itself and changing the ambition in our actions and mindsets.

— Tamar Matalon
Programme Director & Board Member
Flotilla Foundation