Slow Fashion and Circularity are the future

Slow Fashion and Circularity are the future

Behind thecharm of cheap fashion lies anoverwhelming environmental cost

Vidhyalakshmi Chandrasekaran

10 June 2025

The fast fashion segmentof clothing industry is driven by overproduction and inefficient consumption, resulting in a significant environmental impact at each stage of resource use, especially of water and energy, while producing substantial carbon emissions [1]. Internationally, up to 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to the textile industry [2]. Additionally, textile wastes, particularly synthetic fibers, are not always bio-degradable, and are frequently sent to landfills or burned, and these synthetic fibersare discharged as microplastics into the marine environment while washing textiles [3].

There is clear merit in encouraging the textile industry to shift from a linear to a circular model. The idea of circularity is based on the 5R principles, which prioritize waste minimization and sustainability [4].  For example, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and clothing industry expertslaunched an initiative titled “The Jeans Redesign” between 2019 and 2023 to design jeans for circularity. A team of industry professionals developed a redesign guideline, and more than 100 companies created ‘redesigned jeans’ following the guidelines[5]. Certain popular brands have initiated resale, collecting clothes for recycling, and procuring safe raw materials, etc., in attempts to ensure sustainability. However, the fashion industry remains far from achieving circularity due to design constraints, which have led to a sub-standard second-hand clothing market, sluggish recycling rates, and delayed large-scale adoption of innovative materials and technologies [6].A systematic shift is required to achieve circularity in the textile industry including:

  • Rethinking product design for durability, repairability, and recyclability;
  • Encouraging slow fashion culture by extending the lifespan of cloth through proper care and through repurposing old trousers and skirts by upcycling them into new bags, quilts, bedding, hats, or as recycled yarn [7];
  • Transforming supply chains for traceability and sustainability even across sub-contractors[8];
  • Strengthening policies such as eco-labelling and extended producer responsibility (EPR) by encouraging manufacturers to design products for circularity and implement an effective collection system during the post-consumer stage[9];
  • Educating consumers about sustainable consumption.

References

  • Water — collective Fashion justice. (n.d.). Collective Fashion Justice. Retrieved May 14, 2025, from https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/water
  • Fast on fashion, slow on sustainability: Clothing companies and the circular economy. (2023, March 16). S&P Global. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/fast-on-fashion-slow-on-sustainability-clothing-companies-and-the-circular-economy
  • Unsustainable fashion and textiles in focus for International Day of Zero Waste 2025. (2025, March 27). UN Environment. Retrieved May 14, 2025, from https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/unsustainable-fashion-and-textiles-focus-international-day-zero
  • Fashion and the circular economy. (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/fashion/overview?sortBy=rel
  • The Jeans Redesign (2019-2023). (2023, July 18). Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-jeans-redesign/overview
  • Saliba, M., Keys, A., & Murdie, M. (2024, November). The Circularity Gap Report - Textiles. Circle Economy. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.circularity-gap.world/textiles
  • How to reduce textile waste by repurposing unsold/gently-used t-shirts, dresses and skirts to make grocery bags. (2023, June 27). European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/good-practices/how-reduce-textile-waste-repurposing-unsoldgently-used-t-shirts-dresses-and-skirts-make-grocery-bags
  • Bhandari, N., Garza-Reyes, J. A., Rocha-Lona, L., Kumar, A., Naz, F., & Joshi, R. (2022b). Barriers to sustainable sourcing in the apparel and fashion luxury industry. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 31, 220–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.02.007
  • Lüttin, L. (2025, January 15). Overview of all Textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Laws. Carbonfact. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.carbonfact.com/blog/policy/textile-epr-overview.