Can reducing, reusing and recycling become fashion's norm?

Welcome to Retail Wrap-Up UK – your fortnightly dose of sector-specific news and insights, created by LinkedIn News UK retail editor Aaron Toumazou.

The quest for a more environmentally friendly fashion industry is an ongoing struggle. With no signs of overproduction abating, how are sustainably minded startups in the reduce, reuse and recycle space managing to make an impact? 

This week, we spoke to three sustainable brand founders, as well as sustainability strategist Alec Leach, to learn how businesses operating within circular fashion are making a difference. 

The big read

Despite a growing number of new businesses seeking to tackle the fashion industry’s environmental issues, a lack of intervention and overproduction by large global players have so far made it difficult to see a sustainable light at the end of the tunnel.

Reducing, reusing and recycling garments and textiles already in circulation would go a long way towards decreasing the environmental toll from the sector, which currently produces more carbon emissions per minute than a car driving around the world six times, according to Oxfam. In fact, fashion designer Patrick Grant claims we currently have enough clothing on the planet to clothe the next six generations of the human race.

However, building the infrastructure to make circular fashion the norm within the sector has been slow. In the case of recycling, sustainability strategist Alec Leach says this lack of infrastructure is an overarching stumbling block. "We live in societies where everyone gets p*ssed off about plastic packaging, but there’s no alternative," he told LinkedIn News UK. "If you want to buy a T-shirt and have it come in the post, there’s no workable alternative. Even biodegradable plastic isn't feasible right now because there's no system in place to make sure it gets to a facility that can actually biodegrade it."

As well as presenting a blockade for businesses to effectively implement sustainable ideas, insufficient frameworks mean that by 2030, more than 134 million tonnes of textiles are predicted to end up in landfills. However, while sustainably minded startups may not necessarily be able to put an end to practices like overproduction, they are speeding up a noteworthy change in the relationship consumers have with their wardrobes. 

For Esther Knight, who founded sustainable fashion brand Fanfare Label after becoming disillusioned by the corner-cutting she felt was encouraged working in high street retail, changing consumer perspectives is key to the impact smaller brands can have. Knight specialises in repaired, reused and recycled denim and linen pieces which "never go out of fashion and [are] relevant season after season" and says that educating customers on forging a new relationship with their clothing so they keep it, look after it and cherish it is embedded in everything Fanfare Label does. 

The same rings true for Layla Sargent, who founded The Seam in 2019 as a way to promote garment longevity by linking customers to specialist local makers who can repair their clothes. "I think a lot of the change will come from people having a generally more mindful approach, which stems from connectivity," she told LinkedIn News UK. "As a society, we've become so disassociated with the stuff that we own. By building a connection from early on in the lifecycle, people will naturally want to care for stuff for longer." 

A growing repairs sector has managed to weave its way into the mainstream narrative in recent times. Not only have a cohort of premium brands announced in-house repair initiatives, but consumer demand to mend all manner of goods, rather than replace them, has soared during the cost of living crisis. In January, John Lewis & Partners reported haberdashery sales had grown by 61%, including dress-making accessories, coloured dyes, patches and more.

Leach says that facilitating this kind of change to encourage more responsible shopping habits is becoming a huge focus for retailers. "And also, just selling great stuff," he adds. "This on its own is really worthy, because something that has longevity is a responsible choice, even if it might not seem like it because you’re buying something new."

But contrary to the idea of owning better things, fashion rental has become a business area illustrating another fast-changing attitude towards our wardrobes. Leach says that this isn’t just being manifested by the growth of new rental startups. "If I learned anything from watching the streetwear space [working] at [fashion media brand] Highsnobiety, it’s that a lot of shoppers are already behaving as if they rent their clothes," he says. "They're just doing it in a very roundabout way. If you buy a Supreme T-shirt and sell it a few weeks later, you are essentially renting it because you're selling it for something close to what you paid for it. In my opinion, the behaviour is already there. Making it work logistically is the challenge."

In recent years, big names in luxury fashion including Selfridges, MATCHES and FLANNELS have all begun their own rental offerings, and Eshita Kabra is one founder seeking to build on the potential of rental with By Rotation – a platform that gives consumers the chance to list their own wardrobe. 

For Kabra, though, the desire to make more sustainable choices is not the primary reason customers use her app. "The first and foremost reason why people use By Rotation is actually for affordability," she tells LinkedIn News UK. "I've also seen a lot of our top lenders buying less fast fashion, and because they invest in high-quality pieces, they know that they can now spread the cost on the app by lending them out to other users."

Instead of hammering home the eco-friendly upsides of renting clothes, rather than buying new to wear only a handful of times, sustainable upshots are presented to By Rotation customers at the checkout, where a positive impact calculator shows savings made in textile and water waste and carbon emissions. The same kinds of initiatives are employed by many other second-hand apparel websites, a market predicted to nearly double its global value by 2026 to $218bn (£175bn).

Brands in all categories are increasingly seeing the business value of promoting longevity and circularity. "I think there are changing expectations around what consumers want to see from their favourite retailers, especially within the premium space," says Sargent. "I think any high-end retailer absolutely needs to be offering repair services to customers," adds Leach. "It gives retailers an opportunity to build a natural relationship with their customers as well, and if we're talking physical retail right now, one of the best things they can offer over these mass market, digital retailers is a really personalised service."

So how exactly do brands like Fanfare Label, The Seam and By Rotation – for whom sustainability has been baked into their business models from the start – feel when those who may have contributed to the industry’s problems attempt to take a slice of this action? 

While The Seam’s Sargent is clear in her stance that business models built on a framework of excessive waste and exploitation are not good businesses, "I think we have to pick our fights," she says. "There is no way that, overnight, anything is going to change the way that these businesses operate. If by introducing a repair service or an alteration service, they are at least helping their customers love an item more, then this is better than them not doing it."

As for when unsustainable business operations might be challenged in a more substantial way, change has been gradual but not insignificant. When Knight was starting Fanfare Label five years ago, she recalls factories shrugging off her sustainability demands. Now, she says things are becoming easier for brands looking to upcycle and reuse textiles, but increased support from policymakers would not go amiss.

"There’s a big focus on investing in tech. The people on the ground making changes need support as well, because we’re driving innovation within the industry," says Knight. "I also think that more regulation and rules with regards to allowing brands to say certain things is needed, and this helps smaller businesses because when what you're doing is really what it says on the tin, it makes it harder for bigger brands to jump on the bandwagon."

Sargent gleams some hope from looming but slow-moving legislations such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – a proven method that gives retailers responsibility for the entire value chain of their products, including what happens to them once disposed of – for the UK’s fashion and textiles industry. Meanwhile, a growing number of advertising insiders now believe stricter incoming regulations could end the era of "greenwashing". Last week, the Advertising Standards Authority said it would ban adverts making misleading or exaggerated climate-positive claims.

What do you think are the main ways sustainable fashion startups can change the sector? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Spotlight

Despite strong market growth perspectives and growing consumer awareness, more and more circular fashion businesses are closing down, writes ethical fashion brand founder Elise Sormani. Here she outlines some of the reasons many companies struggle to succeed.

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Creators to follow

• George Harding-Rolls – A sustainability professional working on fashion, plastics and the circular economy, follow Harding-Rolls for updates and opinions on new legislations being implemented around the world.
• Ezreen Benissan – Editorial assistant at Vogue Business, Benissan regularly shares and provides context to her reporting on LinkedIn, which touches on matters of inclusivity and sustainability within the fashion sector.
• Debs Lewis – What do you need to think about before launching a sustainable fashion brand? Lewis is a fashion mentor and coach and often posts tips on how to bring ideas and concepts to life.

Other LinkedIn Newsletters

• Get Hired UK – A fortnightly update dedicated to advice and insights on landing your next role and progressing in your career.
• Finance Wrap-Up UK – The latest financial news and insights from LinkedIn News UK finance editor Manas Pratap Singh.
• Tech Wrap-Up Europe – A digest of news, views and insights from the world of tech written by Orlando Crowcroft and Sam Shead.

UK Retail Editor: Aaron Toumazou

Creator Manager: Priscillia Mudiaki