People have been obsessed with fashion for centuries and there is no doubt that this will continue. After all, fashion can help us with our confidence and shape us as a person.
The fashion industry has based its business model on the fact that every year, there are fashion trends and fads in abundance. This has lead many manufacturers and consumers to throw away old clothing items in order to keep up with the current fashion trends.
However, with the ever-increasing threat of global warming, the pressure has been mounting for big companies in all areas of business to start reducing their carbon footprint, including the fashion industry.
Many fashion outlets have followed the idea of “Circular Fashion” to combat global warming. This is the idea that clothes, shoes, or accessories can be designed, sourced, and provided to customers with the intention of being circulated and used for as long as possible. Here’s three fashion brands that have built their business around circular fashion.
The R Collective
The R Collective is a unique company that is passionate about reducing the “ugly” reality that the fashion industry wastes much of its material, something that has a profoundly negative impact on the planet.
The brand was born from “Redress”, a Hong Kong based charity which aims to reduce the waste of clothing materials. The R collective estimates that up to 20% of all textiles is wasted worldwide before even reaching the consumer, which has sped up global warming.
The R Collective promotes circular fashion by a wide range of fabrics, which have been previously thrown away by other fashion businesses. This helps improve the circular economy by “putting waste back into fashion”, as well as boasting an extensive collection of chic jackets, blazers and skirts.
As well as rescuing wasted materials, the R Collective focuses on finding the right manufacturers for its mission, noting the importance of partnering with manufacturers who share the same passion for saving our planet.
OhSevenDays
This womenswear label is based in Turkey and focuses on creating sustainable products. OhSevenDays offers both smart and casual items such as dresses, trousers, and tops, as well as many cute accessories like protective masks and scrunchies.
Megan Mummery created OhSevenDays after passing through an area of Istanbul and seeing many cuts of fabric being sold after it had been wasted by fashion companies.
The company strives to create sustainable, authentic products by hand picking tailors such as Tayyar Butun, who has been working in the textile industry for over 40 years. Like the R Collective, it is important to Mrs Mummery’s company to work with reliable and passionate professionals.
The brand believes that “You should know a bit more about the clothing you wear”. A message like this leaves no doubt in shoppers’ minds that if they buy products from OhSevenDays, they are buying from an organised, highly world-conscious business.
MUD Jeans
Whether you’re going for some smart-casual skinny jeans or just looking for something to hang around the house in, MUD Jeans are a must. This Dutch company is the world’s first circular denim brand one of the leading fashion producers using the Circular Fashion business model.
Founded in 2012 by Bert Van Son, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the fashion industry, MUD Jeans aims to make “one of the most polluting items in the fashion industry” more enviromentally friendly.
This stylish company uses a mix of organic cotton and recycled cotton when making its jeans to ensure that there is minimal impact on the environment.
Astoundingly, in the last four years, MUD Jeans has:
Saved 533 million litres of water.
Avoided 1 million kilograms of CO2.
Saved 20,000 pairs of jeans from going to landfill and being incinerated.
There is no doubt that a big proportion companies in the fashion industry is not making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. However, due to the introduction of circular fashion, companies like the R Collective, OhSevenDays, and MUD Jeans are on the rise.
If global warming is to be reversed, many industries will have to band together and do their part. The circular model is definitely the way forward as far as the industry is concerned and adding sustainable clothes to your wardrobe is the future of fashion.
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