These Brands and Leaders Are Championing A Circular Economy
Circular fashion offers a massive opportunity for both brands and consumers to build a world where ethical and sustainable practices are a given. What if it was standard for brands to examine the entire life-span of the clothes they make — from the quality of fabrics to the durability of garments long after they leave the stores? In this episode, we highlight the brands and consumers leading the movement toward radically reimagining the fashion industry and our relationship to clothing using circular models.
Hosted by @ariellevking
Script by Marisa Orozco
Research by Marisa Orozco, @ariellevking + @diandramarizet
Audio Engineering + Music by @awesomenostalgia
Produced by @diandramarizet + @sustainablesabs
This episode is sponsored by @keen
Episode Transcript
Introduction
Welcome to The Joy Report, a podcast dedicated to sharing stories about climate solutions and environmental justice, grounded in intersectionality and optimism. This show is brought to you by the organization Intersectional Environmentalist. I’m your host, Arielle King, an environmental justice strategist and educator passionate about making environmentalism irresistible. Tune in for a dose of climate joy and actionable steps you can take to help protect people and the planet.
So far this season, we've imagined a PFAs-free future, explored sustainable consumption habits, and discussed climate justice funding. In this episode, we’re diving into all things circularity — what it is, why it’s important, and how brands and consumers alike are putting fashion circularity into motion.
The Problem
It’s no secret that the fashion industry has a huge waste problem. Almost 100 million tons of energy are used to extract nonrenewable resources to produce clothes that, typically, are only worn seven to ten times. After that, these clothes make their way to landfills. This phenomenon is called the linear economy, sometimes known as the take-make-waste model. As the name suggests, products move in one direction — from raw, finite materials to waste. Sometimes there’s an extra step in the process, like recycling or reuse, to make it more sustainable. But ultimately the issue remains — linear systems always end with waste.
The waste management process is known as the global waste trade. Here’s how it operates in a nutshell: First, the US extracts finite resources from developing nations to mass produce inexpensive clothing for profit. Then, we use these countries as dumping grounds for textile waste, forcing workers and people of the Global South to accept, distribute, and dispose of clothing waste that wasn’t even theirs to begin with. Each year, the US is responsible for dumping about 92 million tons of clothing onto developing nations. From contaminated waterways and air pollution to deteriorating soil ecosystems, the global waste trade triggers a worldwide public health crisis.
Even though these exploited nations have contributed the least to the climate crisis, they are the first to experience its harm and are hit the most severely by environmental and socio-political consequences.
Colonialism is alive and well in the fashion world. Corporations in the US and other nations in the Global North often want to avoid taking responsibility for the life span of what they produce. The main priority is often profit over the health and safety of the planet and its people. Plus, there are little to no accountability measures in the industry, and as you might imagine, this practice is not something consumers actually want. When given the choice, most consumers want brands to take accountability. We want brands to be transparent about their supply chains. And above all, most of us want to buy from ethical and sustainable shops whenever possible.
In attempts to meet these consumer demands toward sustainability, many companies have resorted to greenwashing. Brands hide behind buzzwords like “eco-friendly, ethical, and sustainable” to give the false impression that they are committed to environmental protection. The reality is that these words don’t mean anything without clear definitions, guidelines, and actions. Corporate greenwashing is misleading, and it makes it increasingly more difficult for consumers to distinguish which brands are telling the truth and which ones are equivocating.
For the fashion brands that have committed to sustainability, some have run into challenges to stay open. Take Mara Hoffman, a designer who played a key role in making the sustainable fashion industry what it is today. By creating Fair Trade Certified clothing, restructuring the supply chain, and stopping the use of synthetic fabrics, Hoffman’s label embodied a circular approach to fashion.
MARA HOFFMAN: During these years, in the business portion of it, trying to work from the inside out in a system that’s not built for the type of work that we’ve been trying to do on the inside to really succeed. It’s built on a very old model that kind of suppresses that or doesn’t allow for that to be supported in the way it needs to, to have this be the mainstream of fashion, right?
After 24 years of success and acclaim, she shut down her namesake label because the fashion industry was, in her words, “never built to prioritize Earth and its inhabitants.” Hoffman’s decision to close her label is a stark reminder that the existing, traditional fashion system is not designed to support circularity and sustainability.
So how do we fix this? Where do we go from here? Enter circular economy.
The circular economy is a system that circulates resources, regenerates nature, and eliminates waste. Products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. The natural world is the prototype for a circular model in fashion. Nature is neither linear nor does it produce waste; it’s constantly morphing into new ways of being. Rooted in the natural world and Indigenous principles, circularity is the best way forward toward a kinder, more sustainable world.
Circular fashion offers a massive opportunity for both brands and consumers to build a world where ethical and sustainable practices in the industry are a given. Like what if it was standard for brands to examine the entire life-span of the clothes they make — from the quality of fabrics to the durability of garments long after they leave the stores? What if brands were required to be transparent about supply chains? What if we as consumers divested from our hyper-consumerist society and instead leaned into slower fashion? Sustainability and personal style go hand-in-hand, and brands and consumers are leading the movement toward radically reimagining the fashion industry and our relationship to clothing.
Intervention
Financial metrics like profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and valuation have historically been the main key performance indicators, or KPIs, that define a brand’s success. And because we exist in a capitalist system that is driven by profit and exploitation, a brand’s efforts to meet KPI targets tend to come at the expense of ethical and sustainable practices. Shein, for example, is infamous for its poor quality, short-life products. The online retailer accelerates the pace of fleeting fashion trends and generates as much consumption as possible by churning out up to 10,000 new items on its website daily. Shein more than doubled their profits last year, making it one of the most “successful” fashion companies in the world. And sure, the corporation may be hitting all their financial metrics and KPI targets, but its success comes at a very high price. The fast-fashion giant has a laundry list of human rights violations and a very dangerous environmental impact.
Fashion shouldn’t cost us a livable planet and brands shouldn’t have to sacrifice sustainability for financial success. So what if brands measured a new KPI? Beaker is a platform that considers specific sustainability factors — like whether a brand “is reducing GHG emissions” or “ensures living wages in its primary supply chain” — to establish a standardized rating system for companies. Beaker is not only paving the way for brands to strive toward a new KPI — with indicators that are both sustainable and ethical — but also provides consumers with the information they need to make more informed purchasing decisions.
Like we mentioned in Episode 2, our purchasing habits as consumers have a major impact on the way brands move and operate. Because consumers are now demanding transparency from brands, more and more companies, marketplaces, and organizations across the industry have been addressing the impacts of colonialism in supply chains and production materials.
When we think of supply chain transparency, we don't only consider transparency in product-making. We must also remember the people behind the work. Many fast fashion brands, Shein included, rely on the exploited labor of millions of people from countries like Bangladesh and China to maintain their profits. As the dark side of fashion comes to light, a growing number of states are passing new legislation to increase supply chain transparency and stop this extractive, excessive cycle.
In 2024, California passed the Transparency in Supply Chains Act, which aims to prevent human rights violations such as human trafficking and slavery in the supply chains of retailers and manufacturers. In New York, there is a strong push to pass the New York State Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (S7428/A8352), more commonly known as the Fashion Act. It would require fashion companies to be more transparent about their supply chains, as well as their social and environmental impacts. If passed, the act would mandate corporations to not only disclose any labor and environmental abuses, but also eradicate them.
Passing legislation that holds brands accountable is just half the battle; there must also be infrastructure for compliance and enforcement, to ensure the brands actually follow the legislation once it passes. That’s why Jessica Schreiber recently testified at a New York City council hearing in support of a textile recycling mandate feasibility study. Schreiber is the CEO and founder of FABSCRAP, a NY-based non-profit whose mission is to end textile waste in the fashion industry. To date, FABSCRAP has collected 1.8 million pounds of fabric and saved that from the landfill.
JESSICA SCHREIBER: My name is Jessica Schreiber, and I’m the founder and CEO of FABSCRAP. I think that if textile recycling was mandated, meaning no textiles could go in our normal waste stream, the city is not prepared for the volume of material that it would have to handle and none of the non-profit infrastructure in the city is prepared for the volume of material that would be brought to them. So there needs to be a study to make sure that when a mandate like that goes into effect, that people can actually comply with that mandate and things are set up so that what they are hoping happens actually happens. And I think that also calls for systems of accountability because it means that brands need to be involved in some of this infrastructure building and some of this waste management. Brands and the industry have been pretty successful in instead making this a consumer issue, and that has held up brands and designers from taking corporate responsibility for some of the changes that need to happen in the industry.
Advocacy and education are essential tenets of the org. Through educational programming, the organization encourages community members to ask questions, demand transparency from brands, and adopt circular fashion.
SCHREIBER: One of the ways that we've seen brands make the most change is when they're having to answer to consumer questions and consumer concerns and they're following what consumer trends and consumers want. And so the more that we can express that not just through our buying power but asking to see annual reports, asking to see total volumes, asking what materials are made from, where materials are made.
There are also globally-recognized, sustainable sourcing models that standardize environmental and ethical practices. One example is the Fair Trade Certified label, which recognizes brands that meet rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards. For a product to be labeled “Fair Trade Certified,” the facility must pass an annual audit that considers things like safe working conditions, environmental protections, sustainable livelihoods, traceability and transparency, and community development funds.
New sustainable metrics, legislation, advocacy, and programs like Fair Trade force brands to be transparent and accountable. And with greater transparency and accountability comes more circular systems in fashion.
Main story
Brands big and small are already making strides toward actualizing the circular fashion future we hope to see. They are exploring what it means to design for longevity and durability; what materials and production methods are optimal; whether systems encourage extended use and reuse; and if things can easily be repaired, remade, and recycled in order to ‘close the loop.’
One brand who is thinking critically about circularity is this episode’s sponsor, KEEN. In partnership with Arrive Recommerce, KEEN is launching a resale platform very soon where fans will be able to buy pre-loved KEEN shoes for a fraction of the price, and reduce textile waste in the process. This is just one of the many commitments KEEN has made to leave no footprints.
Patagonia also has a wornwear program, which allows consumers to trade in and buy used Patagonia gear. There’s also Eileen Fisher’s Renew program, which extends the lifecycle of their clothes and contributes to a model of less production and consumption. The proliferation of recommerce sites— like ones created through individual companies, or sites specifically designed for re-sale, like Depop, ThredUp, and TheRealReal— help eliminate waste, prevent climate degradation, and fight overproduction and overconsumption. In simpler terms, buying used advances the circular economy.
Coachtopia, a sub-brand of Coach, is another great example of a brand that is paving the way toward circularity. In their docuseries called “The Road to Circularity,” sustainable fashion advocate Aditi Mayer underlines a key lesson: sustainability is worth it, and the way we define luxury can be reimagined.
ADITI MAYER: It seems like circularity or sustainability, it’s not always the easier path but it’s a critical path // Reimagining waste is just one step along the road to circularity. But imagine the impact at scale. What if every scrap of material produced was used to make something lasting and meaningful? What if one day we didn’t need to produce new materials at all?
Coachtopia is a testament to the belief that making with waste, no matter how difficult, creates a huge positive impact.
Big brands aren’t the only ones who are doing the work. Smaller, more nimble brands are also reimagining their supply chains and joining the movement toward circularity. For example, The Sunday Collective sells unisex clothes made from raw natural materials from local businesses and farmers. The company designs its clothes to be worn for years, and when kids inevitably outgrow them, consumers can donate the items back to the brand.
Another independent brand that is making waves in sustainable fashion is Je Mérite. Sustainably sourced and responsibly manufactured in New York City, this a Black-owned, female-founded slow fashion brand that makes luxury silk slips, robes, and sets for a wide range of body shapes. The brand ensures minimal waste during the production process and uses eco-friendly packaging to ship its products.
Flea markets and clothing swaps are also alternative ways people are building more accessible, circular systems. Take By Rotation, the world’s first social fashion rental app. The platform allows people to rent out items in their own closets and build an online community through storytelling.
Then there’s Bed-Stuy Clothes Swap, an organization that’s rooted in community, culture, and storytelling.
AKIERA CHARLES: What we're doing is a process of reclamation for Black and brown folks in centering our legacy within zero waste. When you think about sustainable fashion in zero waste oftentimes you do not see Black and brown folks in the center of it or leading it. // So I’ll say just in terms of the impact of Bed-Stuy Clothes Swap, just thinking about gentrification, hyper-consumerism, capitalism, colonialism, and seeing how all those things are rooted in how clothing waste streams continue to pin low-income, poor folks to the fringes of precarity, exhaustion, isolation, death, and environmental racism, Bed-Stuy Clothes Swap, honestly, is our way of power-building and dismantling barriers to equitable collective care and equitable clothing options.
That’s Akiera Charles, the founder of Bed-Stuy Clothes Swap. She started the community-led clothing recycling network back in 2018 after noticing a need for accessible clothing and Black women leaders in zero waste initiatives. Since then, the organization has grown with volunteers, developed extensive educational programming, and built partnerships with cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Museum. Looking forward, you can expect a lot more collaborations, community events, and of course, clothing swaps.
CHARLES: So why not allow us to fill that need, right? Like we want to create these hubs where there could be a Staten Island hub, a Queen's hub, a Bronx hub, you get it, you get the vision.
Thanks to social media, there’s also a growing shift in consumer habits toward circularity. Although there are some corners of social media that push a culture of online micro-trends and overconsumption (I’m sure you remember how quickly the Mob Wife aesthetic replaced the Clean Girl aesthetic), but social media can also be a source of de-influencing, which is an online trend that discourages people from buying more.
OLIVIA (@oliviasara_23): I feel like the suede bag is making a huge huge comeback this season. And while they are cute, if you have a bunch of bags, you don’t need another one. You don’t need a suede one. I just really want us to get out of the habit of spending money on pieces that we don’t really need just because we feel like we have to have the new thing for this season.
Olivia, or @oliviasara_23, on TikTok is right. We shouldn’t feel the need to buy something just to keep up with the trends. Because it’s impossible to keep up! And the rise and fall of these fleeting aesthetics are erasing our personal style. Here’s another creator sharing how buying more negatively impacted her look.
YOLA (@yszwnska): And anyways your style flourishes when you decrease consumption. Like whenever you buy less, you just look better. When I was giving thrift-haul-every-week kind of era, I really looked my worst. Like when I look back at those looks, I’m embarrassed most of the time. And times 10 if it’s fast fashion.
There are also challenges circulating online that combat overconsumption and clothing waste. There’s the 75 Hard Style Challenge started by Mandy, aka @oldloserinbrooklyn, where you get dressed everyday for 75 days without buying anything new. Then there’s Rachel aka @rachspeed’s, ‘333’ outfit challenge, where you select three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes and create as many outfits as you can. Although these challenges are short-term, the hope is that we continue to practice sustainability and tap into our creativity long after the challenge is over.
Upcycling is another great way to breathe life into your closet. For Summer Dean, aka @climatediva on IG, she found inspiration in her grandparent’s closet.
SUMMER DEAN (@climatediva): … I love shopping in my family’s wardrobe because every piece is unique and I can style them in ways that make me feel that way too. I’ve even gotten creative with some of my grandparents’ pieces and upcycle them into something entirely new…
Fashion should be fun and imaginative, and sustainability naturally lends itself to this form of creative expression. The brands, organizations, and individuals mentioned here and countless others are helping us claim a more creative, communal, and circular future in fashion.
Call to Action
Brands are working harder to build better, more sustainable systems because of people: the people who make the materials, the people who make the decisions about whether sustainability will be integrated into a company’s ethos, and the people who purchase products to keep the brand running.
Circular fashion is possible only because of collective action. Here are some ways you can participate in the collective movement toward circularity.
First, continue supporting legislation that advocates for stronger accountability and transparency measures. The legal system can help hold big powerful fashion corporations accountable for the harm they cause.
I mentioned this in episode 2, but it bears repeating. Remember that the most sustainable clothing you can have is the clothing you already own. Wear what you have, and think about new ways you can extend the life-span of your wardrobe. Learn how to mend, upcycle, care for, and style your clothes so that they can last longer.
Aja Barber said it best in her book Consumed: On Colonialism, Climate Change, Consumerism, and the Need for Collective Change, “Look for worth in the objects around you and in yourself. It's important to realize that sustainability isn't rushing out to buy 'sustainable products'. Sustainability in its purest form is being sustainable with that which you already own.”
If you find that the garment is no longer for you, consider saving it for an upcoming clothing swap, renting it on a fashion rental app, or gifting it to a friend. If the garment is absolutely un-useable, try looking for local scrap and textile waste collection sites in your area. If you’re in NYC, grownyc.org/clothing is a great resource to find your nearest garment drop off location.
Being a conscious consumer also allows you to connect with your community. Shop local whenever you can, and get involved with groups and organizations near you that are promoting a more circular fashion industry.
As we learned from the people and organizations doing incredible work to save the planet, it becomes clear that sustainability efforts inevitably lead to community-building. We are not alone in this, and there is so much power in coming together with like-minded people to reimagine a circular fashion world.
Other positive climate news
Here’s some other positive climate news you should know about:
For the first time in over 100 years, salmon are swimming freely in the Klamath River after local tribes fought to remove a dam that disrupted the local ecosystem.
California recently passed a law that is requiring companies that make clothes and textiles in the state to recycle their materials. In the hopes of creating a more circular economy, the state will work with companies to set up donation drop off centers, process recycled textiles, and more.
A new state park in Brazil was recently established to protect 1.3 million acres of the Amazon rainforest, which is as large as the Grand Tetons and Yosemite national parks combined. According to the park, Indigenous inhabitants of the park will not be interfered with, making this a win both for conservation and climate justice.
Additional IE updates
And in the world of Intersectional Environmentalist:
Toolkits: We recently launched three brand new toolkits on outdoor equity, on-the-record activism, and voter suppression! Dive into historical context, learn more about each of these issues, and check them out on the toolkits page of our website.
Support CTA: If you love this podcast and want to support IE’s ongoing resource development, please remember that sharing our resources across platforms, rating our podcast episodes, and donating to IE helps us continue this work.
Outro
And remember, fighting the climate crisis is a marathon, not a sprint. We need everyone to get involved in a way that feels right for them, now more than ever.
Our individual positive actions do have power, and they’re strengthened when we do them as a collective. Tune in next episode where we’ll explore environmental law and successful solutions at the policy level.
I’m your host, Arielle King, and thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Joy Report.
