Fabric Circularity in Fashion: Closing the Loop on Waste

Shirt on a hanger with a recycling tag representing fabric circularity in fashionFabric circularity in fashion is becoming increasingly important as ultra-fast production accelerates clothing waste and environmental damage. In the United States alone, 11.3 million tons of textiles entered landfill in 2018. Although responsibility extends across the supply chain, brands must play a greater role in managing what happens to products after they are sold.

Tentree’s Fabric Circularity

Tentree is one brand exploring fabric circularity in fashion through its Circularity programme, launched in 2022. Customers can send used Tentree or non-Tentree clothing in any condition for reuse or recycling and receive store credit.

Items that are still wearable can be resold, helping to extend their life and reduce demand for new products. Clothing that is too damaged to be reused is sent to Tentree’s recycling partner, SuperCircle, where it can be processed into materials for new clothing, padding or insulation.

Plus, Tentree plants ten trees with each purchase and offers additional ways for customers to support tree planting and climate projects. You can check them out here. This approach to fabric circularity in fashion gives wearable clothing another owner while directing damaged pieces towards material recovery.

Pangaia’s Fabric Circularity

Over the past couple of years, Pangaia has been hard at work releasing its PLNT FIBER™ and FRUT FIBER™ blends, fleece-like fabrics derived from plant and agricultural waste, which have the look and feel of cotton, without the cotton; partnering Kintra Fibers to help scale industry access to their compostable, synthetic fabric blends; and developing digital passports to promote transparency and inspire responsible consumer choices.

One collaboration with RDD produced The Reclaim Capsule, a line of sweatshirts and sweatpants made from recycled textile waste. Pangaia's use of mechanically recycled production offcuts spun with organic cotton to create a unique blend of reused fabrics, which results in garments with unique colours from the blend of reused fabrics, demonstrates their commitment to reducing waste in landfills and closing the loop in circularity.

Additionally, through their partnership with RDD, Pangaia is providing a platform for startups to test and commercialise their products and fabric innovations, expanding their vision to encourage widespread sustainable textile production. Pangaia’s projects demonstrate how fabric circularity in fashion can begin with production waste, material development and greater supply-chain transparency.

Thousand Fell’s Circularity

The New York-based sneaker company is introducing a biodegradable line that aims to reduce the amount of synthetic wares that are dumped in landfills yearly, nearly 16.9 million tons according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s data in 2017.

Their collection offers unisex lace-ups and slip-ons, with uppers made of white vegan leather and soles made of recycled rubber. And to commit to circularity even further, the brand takes back old shoes to either be refurbished or broken down and reintroduced into the supply chain with the help of the recycling platform, SuperCircle.

Thousand Fell provides another example of fabric circularity in fashion, designing footwear to be returned through its take-back system rather than discarded. Its current programme, powered by SuperCircle, accepts worn Thousand Fell footwear and other clothing in exchange for credit. Returned items are then recycled, downcycled or donated where their condition allows.

Tentree, Pangaia and Thousand Fell illustrate different approaches to fabric circularity in fashion, from resale and garment take-back to recycled fibres and product redesign. These initiatives are promising, although transparent reporting remains essential to demonstrate how much material is genuinely reused or recycled.

Would a brand take-back programme make you more likely to purchase its products? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Would a brand take-back programme make you more likely to purchase its products? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[info sourced on goodonyou.eco, sustainablebrands.com and forbes.com

All images sourced on canva.com]