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Circular Fashion: Meaning & Significance
Fashion Studies

To reduce the growing environmental pollution and conserve the future biodiversity, many people are trying to invent such kind of products and/or processes that put the minimum burden on the environment. Following the same concept, in the fashion industries, some of the designers and respective firms started using eco-friendly or bio-degradable products that can be easily disposed of and leave minimum waste. On the other hand, some people introduced the concept of circular fashion, under which the same products/garments are used again and again.

What is the Meaning of Circular Fashion?

Circular fashion is one of the techniques of sustainable fashion, under which some of the fashion and lifestyle brands have started using energy-efficient technologies that easily recycle old clothes or waste of any such fabrics. Once these old clothes are recycled, designers again use it to create new designs and make trendy dresses. People once again buy and wear it. In addition to this, manufactures are also using this technique and manufacturing the new fibers, and fabrics from the textile waste.


So, circular fashion means no waste, no pollution, no burden on the environment, and hence it is a sustainable concept that fulfils the present needs without damaging or compromising with the ability of future generations' ability to meet their own needs. Likewise, as shown in the circular diagram (given below), circular fashion is a system in which dresses and other wearable accessories are manufactured, used, recycled, and again manufactured, and re-used and cycle goes on as long as they can be, before being decomposed finally.


Merely by seeing the circular fashion wheel, the sustainable or eco-friendly nature of the fashion industry can be easily understood. By using such techniques, the textile products are enduring and when it ends, leaves minimum waste. So, the fashion industry definitely should adopt such techniques and try to use maximum reusable products to maintain the circular fashion model.

Advantages of Circular Fashion Model

Following are some of the significant advantages of circular fashion:

  • Easy availability of textile raw materials for new designing and production;
  • Emphasizing on the use of recyclable materials;
  • Minimal pressure on the environment and hence least pollution;
  • Minimal harmful wastage left in the environment;
  • Minimal dependency on imported textile raw materials;
  • Reduction in environmental damage caused especially by textile wastage; and
  • Last but not the least, creation and promotion of eco-friendly industry and employments.

Limitations of Circular Fashion Model

Of course, the circular fashion model has various advantages, but it also has some limitations:

  • Lack of proper infrastructure;
  • The entire process requires skilled labor who can handle the machines and other work efficiently;
  • In a situation where the entire economy is based on linear models, every step is clearly defined and becomes a convention. It is really an expensive deal to shift from a linear to a circular model (on just a short notice);
  • Dependency on the users or consumers; whether they like it or reject it;
  • Likewise, creating any such new trends and business models, which are entirely dependent on consumers’ response, is really a very difficult job.

Conclusion

The purpose behind initiating the circular fashion in fashion industry is to guarantee that clothes and designers’ dresses are made up of safe and renewable materials. And, people or consumers are expected to welcome such new business models, increase their use, and have old clothes turned back to them for recycling and renewable purposes.

References

Study Materials