Kathleen Rademan, Fashion for Good, Innovation Platform Director
Sorting for circularity: India, Wealth in Waste, India’s Potential to Bring Back Textile Waste into the Supply Chain: The study addresses where textile waste presents opportunities for new streams of revenue and materials, reducing dependency on virgin materials and diverting waste from landfill and incineration. It looks at gaps in data in the textile supply chain, identifies and pilots technologies that can organise the industry and build a roadmap to scale the technologies. July 2022
The Textile Tracer Assessment, An Analysis and User Guide for Physical Tracer Technologies in the Textile Industry: Fashion for Good, together with Textile Exchange, have created a detailed analysis for benchmarking physical tracer technologies relevant in the textile industry. July 2022
Accelerating and Scaling Sustainable Innovation, Five Year Progress Report: FFG turns 5. Five years in, we are proud to say Fashion for Good has established itself as the pioneer of collaborative innovation, with a focus of practical action and an entrepreneurial approach. July 2022
Polybag Collection Scheme Pilot: Key Findings Fashion for Good initiated a Polybag Collection Scheme together with partners adidas, Kering and Stella McCartney, and UK-based collector First Mile. The pilot successfully tested the ability to develop a scalable recycling infrastructure for collection and recycling of garment polybags. April 2022
Textile Processing Guide: Pre-Treatment, colouration & finishing: FFG created a guide based on industry and Fashion For Good research, which provides an overview and deeper understanding of the processing stage including innovative technologies that would help drastically reduce the water, energy and chemistry used, as well as replacing hazardous chemistry currently used. January 2022
Unlocking the Trillion-Dollar Fashion Decarbonisation Opportunity: Existing and innovative solutions: FFG produced an overview of the financial trajectory of the fashion industry to meet the net-zero ambition. November 2021
Seven Innovators Join Fashion for Good’s 2022 Asia Innovation Programme: Joy of Life, PICVISA, VAAYU, HEMP Foundation, Gaiacel, Sodhani Biotech PVT.LTD, Fermentech Labs April 2022
Fashion for Good selects Eight Innovators for 2022 Global National Programme: Dye Recycle, Refiberd, Modern Synthesis, RUBI, ever dye, Kintra, Idelam, Premier Plastics March 2022
Fashion for Good launches the ‘Untapped Agricultural Waste Project’ to validate and scale technologies that can successfully transform agricultural waste into sustainable textiles fibres February 2022
Fashion for Good Pilot Project Turns Waste Materials to Black Pigments for Dope Dyeing February 2022
Fashion for Good launches D(R)YE Factory of the Future Project: A New Consortium Project to Accelerate the Shift from Wet to Mostly Dry Processing in the Textile Supply Chain January 2022
Ecovative Launches Fashion for Good Cooperative with Bestseller and PVH Corp: Bringing Next Generation Mycelium Materials to Market December 2021
Plant-based Indigo Presents a Solution for the Future of Denim Dyeing: Fashion for Good Collaboration Working to Bring it to Scale December 2021
Full Circle Textiles Project Focuses on Scaling Polyester Recycling: Fashion for Good Launches New Project to Scale Polyester Recycling Following the Success of Cellulosic Chemical Recycling Project December 2021
Fashion for Good Asia Builds Momentum with New Partner Consortium and Innovations November 2021
Fashion for Good Welcomes GORE-TEX Brand November 2021
Challenge
With circular business models, re-commerce and resale faces barriers in reverse logistics, with many businesses finding it difficult to balance the numbers to be economically viable. Changing consumer behaviour and the stigmas surrounding resale and rental can also be an obstacle in achieving profitability. There is also a lack of skills and technology in sorting and distinguishing where used clothing ends up i.e. resale or recycling. Getting to 100% circularity in these areas involves many stages and various stakeholders coming together productively to implement these practices and therefore key areas for improvement are in infrastructure and logistics.
Similarly, when achieving circularity in textile to textile recycling and production, the key challenge lies in getting all the right innovators and people together to work collaboratively. This is where Fashion for Good plays a critical role in curating consortiums and working groups to harmonise frameworks and standards throughout the textile supply chain. Another significant barrier is the lack of transparency along the supply chain and the inability to trace all fibres and material composition of textiles, which creates challenges for end of use management.
Further, although testing recycling innovation through pilots and projects is a vital step of the process of achieving circularity, once completed the real challenges come in scaling these technologies industrially, specifically chemical recycling, to implement real change.
Need
The main goal is to be able to scale innovative technologies that are achieving circularity and create an infrastructure of seamless collection, processing and recycling/resale of textiles. This involves commitment and a collaborative effort between all stakeholders involved. To do this, we need legislation, green subsidies, and EPR policies from governmental bodies that can push investment and encourage organisations to experiment and pilot. From brands and manufacturers we need design for end-of-life use in mind, easy modular disassembly and continued long-term support for innovators. Lastly, we need consumers to change their consumption patterns and transition from fast to slow fashion.
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