La circularité en action : comment les organisations font progresser le secteur de la mode circulaire au Royaume-Uni

Two clothing-stuffed stock trolleys outside a charity shop have a sign taped to them - '1 to fill a bag.

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It's a powerful reminder of just how much overproduction the global fashion industry is responsible for. Even resale points like charity shops, part of the circular model that aims to keep items in use and reduce waste, are drowning under the weight of unwanted textiles. They're almost giving them away and they can't get rid of them.

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If consumers can't soak up all this excess, then something else needs to be done with it.

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The Fashion Industry Is Positive About Circularity'

Le concept d'un modèle de mode circulaire bénéficie d'un soutien croissant de la part du secteur. En effet, selon un rapport intermédiaire du Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN), 81 % des marques et des détaillants britanniques ont intégré la circularité dans leur stratégie quinquennale.

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Fondé en 2023, le CFIN a été créé dans le but d'accélérer la transition du Royaume-Uni vers un écosystème de mode circulaire d'ici 2032. Il est dirigé par le British Fashion Council (BFC) et la principale association professionnelle UK Fashion and Textile (UKFT), en partenariat avec UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

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Le rapport a également révélé que 66 % de ces organisations ont déjà mis en œuvre au moins une initiative en faveur de l'économie circulaire.

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Interestingly, circular product design was the most widely adopted or considered initiative (80%). But although the CFIN report highlights the importance of circular product design, it doesn't define this as a circular business model.'

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It's a critical component in enabling these models, which include reuse, repair and takebacks, and something that brands should be doing. But it doesn't move the needle on a circular fashion industry on its own.'

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Circular design also creates future benefit ' textiles that are easier to resell, reuse or recycle in the future ' without addressing the existing problem of excess textiles or overproduction in general.

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Les marques adoptent peut-être la conception circulaire des produits plus rapidement que d’autres domaines d’activité, car elles estiment avoir les moyens d’apporter elles-mêmes des changements dans ce secteur. En revanche, la mise en œuvre d’un modèle circulaire plus global pour l’industrie de la mode nécessite clairement une collaboration.

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It's here that we see organisations across the UK fashion industry stepping up.

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La collaboration est essentielle pour stimuler l'innovation

One example is collaborative circularity project, Repurpose. Launched by circularity platform Recomme, ACS Clothing ' a clothing rental and renewal company ' and the UKFT, Repurpose is a circularity processing and innovation hub.

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Brands and retailers can send unwanted textiles ' including returns that can't be resold and those donated by customers ' as well as damaged items to Repurpose's facility to be assessed. Repurpose then determines the best circular option for each item. This might be repair, resale, rental, or even textile-to-textile recycling in partnership with innovators in this field.

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What's particularly interesting about the Repurpose initiative is its plans to drive innovation. This includes investing in textile recycling start-ups and running commercial pilots for their tech.

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Recomme's white labelled circularity offering to retailers helps to direct unwanted textiles into Repurpose's hub, giving it the volume needed to help improve and develop new textile recycling innovations. This includes scaling them over time and overcoming challenges in sorting and processing multi-material garments.

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Stats from WRAP show that there's a long way to go before material recycling becomes the norm. In 2022 the UK generated 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles. Of the 650 kilotonnes that were diverted from landfill and waste, only 34 kilotonnes were actually recycled in the UK.

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According to the Circle Economy Foundation, of all the materials the global textile industry uses, just 0.3% come from recycled sources. What's also telling is that most of this comes from recycled PET bottles rather than recycled textiles.

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Le recyclage « textile à textile » commence à se développer à grande échelle

Essentially, the global fashion industry isn't currently turning unwanted textiles into new ones.'

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But it can be done even if it isn't happening at mass scale yet. And interestingly, given the small percentage use of recycled PET bottles in textile production, repurposing innovation from another sector is one way to do it.

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Project Re:claim ' a joint venture between recycling innovators Project Plan B and Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) ' recycles polyester textiles back into raw material on a commercial scale.

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Développé par Project Plan B, ce système s'appuie sur la technologie utilisée pour le recyclage des bouteilles en plastique. Il permet de transformer les vêtements en polyester en granulés de rPET qui peuvent servir, entre autres, à fabriquer de nouveaux fils.

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In January last year, Project Re:claim machinery was installed at a SATCoL processing centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which already processes around 65,000 tonnes of textiles yearly.'

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Reportedly the first commercial-scale, post-consumer polyester recycling plant of its kind, Project Re:claim's tech is located at the same site as Fibersort, the UK's only automated textile sorting facility. This, coupled with the fact that SATCoL is the largest charity-owned textiles collector in the UK, means that Project Re:claim is in a strong position in terms of bringing in enough unwanted polyester to feed its closed loop system.

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Mais l'approvisionnement en matières premières constitue un défi majeur pour les innovations en matière de recyclage « textile à textile », qu'il s'agisse d'obtenir un approvisionnement régulier en textiles adaptés ou de faire face aux problèmes de contamination.

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Changing an Entire Industry Isn't an Individual Task'

L'une des principales opportunités réside dans la possibilité d'amener les consommateurs à changer leurs habitudes en matière de gestion des textiles dont ils ne veulent plus. Selon le WRAP, près de 50 % de l'ensemble des textiles usagés au Royaume-Uni sont jetés avec les déchets ménagers. Ces articles finissent ensuite soit incinérés, soit mis en décharge, alors qu'ils pourraient être valorisés dans le cadre de programmes de recyclage « textile à textile ».

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Some consumers may be throwing out their old clothes because they don't care what happens to them. But some may simply feel stuck on what to do with clothes that aren't in a good enough condition to donate or resell.

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Greater visibility of ' and access to ' retailer takeback schemes is one way that the fashion industry could shift consumers towards dropping off clothes they don't want or need rather than discarding them.'

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However, CFIN's survey revealed that takeback schemes have the lowest current adoption among retailers compared to other circular activities, and the lowest planned increase in the next few years (30%).

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Il se peut que les commerçants évitent de mettre en place des programmes de reprise en raison des efforts, des coûts et du temps que leur mise en œuvre implique. La législation pourrait toutefois les obliger à les proposer malgré tout.

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The EU has just reached a provisional agreement to establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes for the textiles industry. Textile producers who sell in an EU country ' regardless of where the producer itself is based globally ' will have to cover the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling the textiles they make.

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Une façon d'y parvenir consistera à nouer des partenariats avec des organisations telles que Repurpose et Project Re:claim, qui proposent une solution « tout-en-un », plutôt que de rechercher des partenaires individuels pour chaque activité liée à l'économie circulaire et d'évaluer les meilleures options pour chaque vêtement.

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But there's another way these organisations can help support brands in moving to a circular model ' supporting the circular design so many are investing in to make it easier and cheaper to recycle the clothes they have to collect.

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This is exactly what Project Re:claim has done with school uniform producer David Luke. They have launched a circular school blazar that has been designed to be fully recyclable via Project Re:claim.'

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Previously, David Luke's Eco-uniform range used polyester from recycled plastic bottles but wasn't designed in a way to be easily recyclable again. Working with Project Re:claim, every aspect of the circular blazer has been re-designed so that the entire garment can be recycled in one piece at Project Re:claim's plant. This includes the buttons and zips.

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While the UK may be well positioned to lead the way in circular fashion, it's clear that changing an entire industry isn't an individual task. Which is why it's so encouraging to see major organisations and trade associations helping to lead the way and champion innovation.

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Project Re:claim and David Luke's circular blazer is considered so innovative that one was featured in a display on 'Tomorrow's Wardrobe' at London's Design Museum. But in the future, it could become the norm.