fashion supply chain

the fashion supply chain is comprised of 4 sections

First section is Design, second section is Raw material, third section is Manufacturing and the fourth one is the Retailing.The product development team, which consists of designers, sample makers and salespersons. they meet to discuss what to design and produce and that would have an advantage of to make sure that the result would be marketable. once the ideas are agreed, the designers can use computer-aided design system to draw the design, create pattern, cut fabric, and sew up the samples.And of course, the cutting up of the fabrics and the sewing up of the samples will be done by the sample room, not the designer herself or himself. Then samples are made. Some companies may introduce the collection to potential buyers through fashion shows. 

materials 

SPINNING: the second section of the fashion supply chain is materials.We have several types of manufacturing processes, we have spinning, we have weaving, we have knitting, and we also have dyeing and finishing. cotton can be spun into cotton yarn like this however Many different types of materials are used in spinning. And they can be generally classified as natural, synthetic and regenerated, natural fibre includes cotton, ramie, bamboo, wool, silk, leather, fur and etc. Polyester and nylon are synthetic fibre, which are byproducts of petroleum. And there are also regenerated fibre such as viscose, rayon. industrial machines are used in the spinning mill,

WEAVING: After the cottons are spun into yarn, then the next step is to weave it into fabrics. a shuttle, which is used for the weaving, The shuttle moves horizontally and interlaces with the yarn and creates woven fabric. Woven fabrics are commonly used in making men's shirts, wedding gowns and jeans.The original design of a weaving machine is to interlace the warp yarns and weft yarns to form a fabric when the fabric is manually woven by human workers, it is very expensive.They are used in Japanese kimono and Chinese qipao. Creating the graphics on the fabric is a very complex and expensive process. It can take a master a long time and effort to disperse dye the image into points that represent the weaving pattern. Then the workers need to carefully arrange the yarns and to weave accordingly. Industrial weaving machines replace the manual method and the efficiency is much higher. To speed up weaving the graphics, punched cards are used to control the weaving pattern. Of course, nowadays we can use computerized control rather than the punched cards. In modern time, high-speed weaving machines use air to blow and carrie the yarn across the weaving bed instead of a shuttle. It is so fast that we cannot see it with our eyes. 

https://www.japan-zone.com/culture/kimono.shtml

KNITTING: in the knitting workshops yarn is used to knit fabrics, which are commonly used in sweater and t-shirts. flat knitting machines and circular knitting are used in industry, as well as the computerized knitting machines. on the flat knitting machine the needles form loops, and many loops for knitted fabric. This method is different from weaving. there are flat knitting metal panels which is similar to a weaving bed, except the yarns are looped together instead of interlacing. A piece of black weight is attached to a knitted fabric to prevent the fabric from curling.Sweaters are commonly flat knitted. However, it is very clear that flat knitting is very slow. And logically, the next step is to change the knitting motion to a circular motion.T-shirt and underwear are commonly made of circular knitted fabrics. If complicated graphics patterns are needed, computer-aided knitting machines are indispensable. In fact, these computerized knitting machines are so sophisticated that they can knit a whole garment in one single process. Finally, knitting movement can also be vertical and which is called warp knit. These warp knitting machines can produce lace and other fancy knitted fabrics.

DYING AND FINISHING

And so when the fabrics are ready, its sent to the dying and finishing section there are many processes that we can put on a fabricFor example, dyeing, printing and washing. And so we can create different effects on the fabrics. once it is done, the next part will be in the sewing process. 

a dyeing machine can fix dyestuff to fabrics and give colour to the garment eventually. heat, chemical, and times are crucial factors in production and end result. Different materials require different processes and machineries to create different effects. One technique is called the screen printing, and it is very popular and easy process and technique often used to design own t-shirts. If you look at the graphics pattern on the fabric, you can see very solid image on both the right side and the wrong side. Then this fabric is not printed. It is woven with coloured yarns, and of course later on in the course, and we shall introduce another methods that can print on both sides of the fabric. Finally, for washing machines, the domestic washing machines and the industrial washing machines are very different in terms of their power and efficiency and durability. 

THE GARMENT WORKSHOP

after the fabrics have been treated with dyeing and finishing, they will be transported to the factories. next is the sewing workshop, there are special types of machinery as well as pressing techniques to finish a garment. When the design is ready, we need to sew a sample so that the sales team can show them to the buyers. When your order is confirmed, the manufacturing process will start with ordering the materials, then we do cutting and sewing of the garments. Garments can be sewn by stitches or by ultrasound seaming. And there are actually many ways to treat the seams. There is a special type of decorative sewing and which is known as embroidery. embroidery machines are often used to make logos then there is the full-body press machine, which is not common to the household. It can steam the whole jacket or dress at the same time while pressing.

the last stage is the retailing process. however, a demanding question nowadays is What are you going to do with your garments that you no longer wear? Give it to others? Throw it away? a garment recycling system?

The garment to garment recycling system is a mini production line used to process post-consumer garments into sanitized recycled garments. The system uses no water, no dyeing is needed. It involves eight steps that are carried out in a 40-foot container. First, used garments are sanitized in an ozone chamber to remove micro organisms on the clothes. The used garments so then shred it into their constituent yarns and fiber particles in a fiber opening machine. Next, the shredded material is divided into clumps of fiber and impurities attached to the clumps are removed in a cleaning machine. The clumps are then carded and aligned in the same orientation and so become fiber web. The next step involves the fiber web being formed into slivers and a number of slivers being drawn together to form straightened units with improved evenness. A number of these drones slivers are fed into a high speed rotor and spun into single yarn. Two single yarns are then combined, and this double yarn is fed into a twister machine, which converts the yarn into ply yarn to enhance strength and balance torque. 

Finally, either new garments are made using a whole garment knitting machine or knitted fabrics are produced by a flatbed knitting machine. The system design is compact and easily installed. The entire process takes place in a standard 40-foot container. With its anti vibration noise and dust control design, the production line minimizes noise and disruption to nearby businesses. And so is configured for operational compatibility within community spaces such as shopping malls. The process is waterless, which adds significantly to the systems environmentally friendly properties. These features mean that the system blueprint can be readily adopted by interested parties globally, such as fashion brands or retailers. The first Garment to Garment recycling system was set up in Hong Kong in 2018 and demonstrates how post-consumer garments can be recycled into clean and wearable clothes. Members of the community can view the entire process and are thus able to experience and be inspired by a novel recycling process. 

fashion: Agreement on Sustainable Garment and Textile

under the global agreement (5years) with several countries including: Bangladesh and The Netherlands, The aims of the arrangements in this Agreement are:

to achieve substantial progress towards improving the situation for groups experiencing adverse impacts in respect of specific risks in the garment and textile production or supply chain within 3-5 years;

to provide individual enterprises with guidelines for preventing their own operation or business relationships from having a (potential) adverse impact in the production or supply chain and for resisting it if it does arise;

to develop joint activities and projects to address problems that enterprises in the garment and textile sector cannot resolve completely and/or on their own.

By doing business via international production or supply chains, enterprises may become involved, directly or indirectly, in a variety of potential or existing social, animal welfare and environmental issues. Every enterprise can take measures within its own operational management, but many problems cannot be fully resolved at the level of an individual enterprise alone. In these cases, enterprises can cooperate with other enterprises, public bodies, trade unions and civil-society organisations in collective projects, within which the Parties undertake to achieve tangible results.

The Parties have identified nine specific themes by mutual agreement and in discussion with stakeholders which currently merit the priority attention of enterprises in the garment and textile sector operating in the Netherlands in terms of international responsible business conduct. These themes are, in no particular order:

1. Discrimination and gender;
2. Child labour;
3. Forced labour;
4. Freedom of association;
5. Living wage;
6. Safety and health in the workplace;
7. Raw materials;
8. Water pollution and use of chemicals, water and energy;
9. Animal welfare.

The Parties will expect participating enterprises to perform due diligence and to focus particular attention on these themes. This means that, with regard to these themes, they will identify any possible adverse impact, set specific objectives and take measures which are suitable in the light of the insights resulting from their due diligence process. If they decide in their action plan not to take measures (as yet) or to take other measures equivalent to the measures described below by the Parties in this section in respect of one or more of the specified themes, they must explain clearly why they have taken these decisions.

The selection of nine themes was made jointly by the parties based on the actual impact on the garment and textile sector. When individual enterprises conduct their due diligence process, it cannot be ruled out that they will also encounter other problems in their production or supply chain, such as land grabs or corruption. When that is the case, enterprises will include them in their annual individual action plan.

the themes break down as follows:

Elements of the context that make it a priority theme;

Which goal worth trying to achieve they endorse;

What measures Parties expect from individual enterprises. The rule is: comply or explain Where known: 

which collective projects an enterprise can join when the solution of a problem is beyond the scope of its individual operational management. Arrangements the Parties make among themselves to promote the goal described. Priorities, allocation of roles, planning and timescale will be determined jointly by the parties once the Agreement has entered into force.

As part of this Agreement, the signatory enterprises will assume the following obligations:

to explicitly include the following themes in the principles for their own policy on international responsible business conduct: Discrimination and Gender, Child Labour, Forced Labour, Freedom of Association, Living Wage, Safety and Health in the Workplace, Raw Materials, Water Pollution and the Use of Chemicals, Water and Energy and Animal Welfare;

to communicate their intentions and objectives to their suppliers and chain partners and to formulate and achieve measurable results in collaboration with their suppliers;

to conduct due diligence in a manner which is consistent with their size and business circumstances, within one year after signing the Agreement;

to submit the action plan that they prepare within this due diligence process to the AGT Secretariat on an annual basis for assessment/approval and declare themselves to be in agreement with the assessment/approval of their action plan by the AGT Secretariat, as described in Section 1 and Appendix 4 of the Agreement;

in their annual action plan they will explicitly discuss:

•  the insight that they have gained into their production or supply chain
• through the due diligence process and the possible impacts in their
• supply chain in terms of the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines;
•  how their own purchasing process (delivery times, pricing, duration of contracts, etc.) contributes to potential (risks of) adverse impacts and
• measures to be taken to mitigate them;
• the policy they are pursuing and the measures they are taking with
• regard to the nine themes prioritised by the Parties and how they will participate in the collective projects formulated by the Parties for these themes which are consistent with the substantial risks found in these themes (see Appendix 1);
• formulating quantitative and qualitative objectives and measurable results in terms of improvements for the duration of the Agreement, broken down into objectives after 3 and 5 years.

from Year 1:

•  the countries where their products (Cut, Make, Trim (CMT) and vertically integrated enterprises) are manufactured;
• or each country: the production locations (names and addresses) and production processes concerned and turnover (as a percentage of their own turnover and in euro); 
• from Year 2:
•  the raw materials used in their collections and the risks identified in the use of these raw materials. 
• All disputes arising between one or more Parties to the Agreement and the enterprise concerned with regard to the failure by the enterprise concerned to comply, in a timely manner or at all, with the binding advice of the Complaints and Disputes Committee concerning a dispute shall be settled in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute.
• When settling disputes, the Netherlands Arbitration Institute shall review marginally whether the enterprise concerned has complied with the binding advice of the Complaints and Disputes Committee in a timely manner or at all.
• The parties in arbitration proceedings as specified above shall be the enterprise concerned and one or more Parties to the Agreement. Either party may appear as the claimant or the defendant. The arbitration tribunal shall in principle be composed of three arbitrators. The parties in the dispute may also agree that one arbitrator will suffice. The arbitration tribunal shall be appointed according to the list procedure. o The place of arbitration shall be The Hague, the Netherlands.The arbitrator(s) shall decide as amiable compositeur.

from Year 3 at the latest:

the subsequent links in their production or supply chain (including raw material suppliers, spinning mills, weaving mills and dye works); o from the second year of participation, to report on the results of the plan for the previous year.

• to agree to the preparation by the AGT Secretariat of an aggregated report and benchmark for publication by the Steering Group.
• to communicate in public by the third year of participation in the Agreement, in accordance with what has been agreed by the Steering Group with regard to substantive information to be published;
• to agree to the working methods of the complaints and disputes mechanism which the Parties have established under this Agreement;

FASHION:The transition to good fashion

The deeply rooted issues in the global fashion industry need solutions and collaboration that can disrupt the status quo. Significant positive momentum has emerged, for example, in innovative materials with lower environmental footprints, in small-medium sized companies breaking the traditional mold of linear business models and in multi-stakeholder collaboration to improve working conditions.

We all share a desire to create a fashion industry that allows people and ecosystems to thrive. But, what pathways have the most power to disrupt and transform, and does this include circular fashion?

The analysis by DRIFT shows that circular fashion does have a critical role in transforming the sector, but it also shows that there is room to improve our strategies. C&A Foundation has responded by increasingly focusing on facilitating the implementation of circular business models, as well as by thinking beyond the apparel sector in policy advocacy. In addition, Fashion for Good will build more processes that connect mainstream and niche players, so that innovation has a better chance of moving beyond experimentation in the margins.

www.fashionforgood.com

1. How can we strengthen our collaboration with other actors to create the conditions for transformational alternatives to scale?

2. What positive dynamics of change are happening outside of the European context that we can learn from and utilise?

3. How can circular economy promote equity and inclusion in the fashion industry?

All of these questions have a common theme - additionality. We have an opportunity to build bridges between different areas of sustainability, in different geographies and in different parts of the value chain. We hope that this report provides inspiration to find more ways to work together to accelerate the transition to good fashion.

https://www.candafoundation.org/about

The global fashion industry has developed into a highly complex system entrenched in economic and physical structures, cultures and practices that enable fast and large- scale production of apparel and provides employment to millions across the world. Within this system, a myriad of persistent challenges has emerged over the last few decades resulting in negative environmental impacts and severe social issues. Private, public and civil society actors have condemned these issues, and the movement towards a more sustainable fashion industry is growing with increasing pre-competitive collaboration and a broadening variety of alternative practices, materials and business models that pave the way for the fashion industry of the future.

So far, however, sustainability efforts in the industry have not yet managed to add up to a transformation of the fashion system, and the fashion industry shows signs of initiative fatigue and slow progress. There is a need to understand how initiatives are reinforcing or challenging the status quo and how collective efforts in the industry can more effectively add up to transformative change.

The deeply-rooted issues in the global fashion industry call for solutions that fundamentally challenge the current status quo. For this reason, C&A Foundation and Fashion for Good asked DRIFT to develop a systems change map to better understand the dynamics of change from a transitions perspective and to provide recommendations for transformative change towards a regenerative and restorative fashion industry. 

Transitions are large-scale shifts in societal systems that happen over decades, in societies that face complex and persistent problems due to historical path dependencies and lock-ins. Based on scientific research on transitions, we can see transitions as non-linear and relatively uncontrolled shifts result from the interaction between increasing societal pressures, internal crises and competing alternatives (eg punk). It usually takes decades for such pressures to build, after which, in a relatively short period of time (a few years), the status quo is disrupted, a fundamentally different way of thinking, doing and organizing becomes dominant and the system reaches a new equilibrium.

Transitions cannot be predicted, planned or managed with management approaches, as they emerge from complicated adaptive societal systems. However, it is possible to anticipate upcoming opportunities, create fruitful conditions for change and reinforce developments that together can influence the direction and speed of a transition. In order to do this successfully, we have to be careful not to isolate or over-simplify either the persistent problems the fashion industry faces or the strategies used to address them. To understand where and how to intervene to foster transformative change, we must first acknowledge the complexity of the system. 

The fashion system is analyzed on three levels: the regime or dominant culture, structure and practices, including the root causes of persistent problems; landscape influences that reinforce or challenge the status quo; and niche developments experimenting with alternative ways of doing, thinking and organizing

The fashion industry is a huge economic engine and its supply networks span the globe. It is the third biggest manufacturing industry (after automotive and electronics) generates over 1.5 trillion euros annually and employs an estimated 60 million people worldwide. 

over 100 million households depend on the cotton industry for their livelihoods. If the textile industry were a country, it would be the seventh largest based on GDP. Because the industry is relatively easily accessible to low-income countries and generates employment opportunities and income, it is often described as ‘an engine for global development 

global clothing production and sales have doubled between 2000 and 2015, with the number of garments produced annually surpassing 100 billion in 2014. In other words, the fashion industry is not only large, it is also growing rapidly. The dominant regime can be broken down into three elements: culture, structure and practices. These three aspects of the regime include institutions, social conventions, socially accepted behavior, laws, policies and infrastructures, which together compose and define the fashion system.

The fashion market is highly competitive and demand is growing for increasingly low-cost products in large quantities. This results in a continuous and accelerated race to the bottom. Yet company profits must grow, which for a large part of the industry, means the number of items sold must increase. To meet these demands, a significant part of the industry has developed and perfected the ‘fast fashion’ model over the last decade, which has transformed the seasonal turnover in fashion into a constantly changing stream of trends and new products. The dominant business model builds on the assumption of infinite growth. Many brands and retailers argue that the inertia of the industry is due to the lack of consumer willingness to pay for sustainable products, and the rising demand for affordable clothing supports this claim. however some observe a underlying demand for guilt-free consumption, and international surveys report that 55% of people are willing to pay more for more sustainable clothing. However, research also shows that there is a considerable gap between sustainability intentions and behavior.

From a consumer perspective, clothing transcended its function as a basic need centuries ago. The way we dress and where we shop both signify and shape personal and group identity and culture. At the same time, consumer choices are influenced by marketing images that brands and retailers publish across a wide variety of media and in public spaces, promoting new products and trends. The short time horizon of trends and style-driven purchases leads to the consumer ‘need’ to continuously renew products. Producers and consumers treat garments as disposable products, which is shown by the trend of declining clothing utilization.

Structure

The fashion industry is characterized by mature production technologies1 and its physical infrastructure is based on a linear production and consumption process. The industry extracts a large amount of natural resources, and products mostly end up in landfill or incineration after use. Less than 1% of apparel waste is recycled into material for new apparel.

The fashion industry is highly divided, anonymous and globalized. The 10 biggest brands and retailers have a joint 10% global market share, and the top 10 suppliers in China have 8% national market share. The fashion industry involves numerous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout the value chain. This fragmentation problematizes collective action. Furthermore, traditional retailers are increasingly struggling to compete in the current market (especially compared to online retailers), leading to an estimated closing of almost 10,000 stores in 20179.

Power imbalances exist within the supply chain, between governments and companies, and between the global north and the global south. However, the levels of consumption in the global south are soon expected to outgrow those in the global north

In other words, the north-south divide of consumers versus producers no longer holds. Nevertheless, the knowledge-intensive part of the value chain is still largely concentrated in the global north, while the labor-intensive part is based in the global south

In recent years, manufacturers and suppliers in Asia have consolidated (especially in China), thereby growing more powerful within supply chains. According to one of our interviewees, most Asian manufacturing entities are multinationals that manufacture in very large volumes. They are in a position to invest and differentiate themselves. Some manufacturers even purchased their customers and are selecting who they do business with. However, some other nations in the global south – such as Bangladesh and Cambodia – depend largely on the garment industry for employment and economic opportunities. There is lack of regulation on environmental standards and little enforcement of labor regulation of the industry in most (consuming and producing) countries. Although there is increasing EU regulation in the health and safety domain, such as in the use of chemicals.

In response to the lack of enforcement or regulation, the private sector and civil society are working more closely to create, non-binding and in some cases, binding agreements to address the issues. The most notable example followed the Tazreen and Rana Plaza factory tragedies where brands and local trade unions formed the legally binding ‘Accord on Fire and Safety in Bangladesh’ The short-term business strategy in much of the industry is one of lower prices and higher turnover. As a result, manufacturers have to be increasingly flexible in switching from one product to another. The traditional design- to-sales process needs almost two years, but the fast fashion model needs four months. This leads to manufacturers subcontracting and making excessive overtime. This business model is prone to the exploitation of manufacturing workers resulting in issues like poverty-line wages, severe health and safety issues and worker repression.

The production of garments depends heavily on the intense use of non-renewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels) and intensive farming practices (e.g. using GMOs, fertilizers, pesticides and high volumes of water). There are also many externalities produced throughout the value chain (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater contamination, over-extraction of groundwater) that are partly a result of meeting the prices demanded by much of the market.

fashion: ecosystems and nature

Fashion has two different relations with ecosystems.

1) impact of the whole fashion industry on ecosystems.

2) circular economy in fashion.

 A circular economy has some characteristics that connect to ecosystems thinking, to use ecosystem thinking to get perspectives for the fashion industry. circular economy should have the same characteristics as ecosystems, as nature, so the new economy should also be unending, it should have sources and ways of working that look like ecosystems.

 The aim is to change the fashion system. work on a systems change, when you work on systems change, you need to see what kind of interventions you can do to facilitate the change in ecology and nature. Systems are never closed systems, but always open systems. And the connection with the surrounding world is always important , the most challenging is that nobody has any clue of what the ecology is.

 what are the the characteristics of an ecosystem? you can see three levels more or less in development, the first is on the product level: better design better use of materials and cleaner production.

The second is on process level identifying potential new business models that could be adapted in the fashion sector.

the third level is of course the level of systems change, which is the most, vague ambition, and difficult to identify what should be done.

 But we try at least to work on all three levels of innovation.

 What can we learn from ecology for the economy - mimic ecology for economy. diversity is very important in nature development and ecology. You can see that time and activities over time are very important for the quality of ecosystems. When you take a forest there are, let's say products that lasts the trees.

ecosystem has an amount of resources, nutrients, that is flowing around in the system slower or faster, and keeps the ecosystem on a high level of quality and growth.  Maybe the strategy should be: what do we have in abundance? we have in abundance: energy from the sun - Nine thousand times as much as we need for the whole human system, the sun sends us every moment of the day.  But we technically are not yet there to use it in the good way.We have an abundancy of creativity, which is no problem. Use it and let's have it in the fashion sector more and more. And so on design level we can do far more than we do now. Not just in the creativity but also in  design of the materials and the way the materials can be used after use. And how the resources can come back into the flows.

 C&A now has several gold certified t-shirt and jeans and jean jackets. And that's on the highest level possible on a product level, the highest level possible for reuse and regaining the materials. we also need to

 Give workers a voice, give female workers a voice, challenge and change the gender situation in the industry. from an ecological perspective this is using the diversity in the sector to gain quality in the way we collaborate. we need to try and not just create less impact, less negative impact but We also want to create also a positive impact.

for example the zero line, we have a zero negative impact,  is not enough.you need to step over the zero line and have a positive impact. So whatever you do in the fashion industry, it has a positive impact on people, on working condition on living conditions. It has a positive impact on ecology, on biodiversity and ecosystems, and it has a positive impact on economy

ecological systems work with products that last and products that flow. In nature, products that last are things like trees, while products that flow are the leaves that fall from the tree and become nutrients for the soil. Products that flow are thus fast-moving products, that instead of becoming waste, are resources for other products when they cease to exist (recyclable/ reusable in terms to fashion) These products move around in flows throughout the system to feed into other parts of the system. 

An example of a product that lasts in the fashion system could be a well-produced and timelessly designed leather jacket that can last for years. (good materials, and design, durable and timelessly stylish and/or functional ) 

An example of a product that flows is a garment or (mycelium) bag designed for cyclability with a biobased material. This item can be reused and safely composted at the end-of-life, in order to feed other elements in the biological system.

Critical Design Thinking for fashion

Design is always about creating a future. But what does it mean to create a circular future?

There are many views on circularity and how to attain it. what kind of circular future do you prefer? The whole idea of a sustainable, circular system for goods and services is based on natural lifecycles.

In 1971 the American biologist Barry Commoner published his book The Closing Circlein which he introduced the concepts of eco-sphere and techno-sphere. The eco-sphere is a complex natural network with lifecycles for air, water and soil. A perfect balanced eco-system which developed over billions of years. Human beings are disturbing these natural lifecycles through our techno-sphere. This techno-sphere is mostly based on artificial, linear systems, which results in toxic chemicals, use of non-renewable raw materials and huge amounts of waste. human beings you are part of a balanced eco-sphere. However on the other hand you exploit this eco-sphere for your own benefits. According to Commoner, we created a paradox by thinking that we could overcome our natural state and live independently of our natural surroundings. Because we will always depend on our natural capital. Nature knows best what is a circular, sustainable system.

consider Commoner as an eco-utopist. He relates his ideas to pre-industrial people who live close to nature, and know their lifecycle principles very well. This eco-utopist ideas inspired some designers to work with a romantic view. That man must live in harmony with nature, like a Robinson Crusoe. 

On the opposite side of the eco-utopists, you have people with a techo-utopistic attitude. These people believe in the endless possibilities of advanced technology to overcome all our environmental, societal and economical challenges. They even believe that advanced technology based on artificial intelligence and the use of big data will become our next nature. So our future techno-sphere will function as an advanced and even improved circular eco-sphere.

The two utopian ideas, techno-utopia and eco-utopia, are perfectly illustrated in Charles Mann’s publication The Wizard and the Prophet. About two duelling visions for a better future. The vision of the Prophets relates to the environmental movement. Prophets are always shouting: reduce, reduce and go back to nature, or we will lose everything. The Wizards are the techno-utopists. They are always repeating their mantra: innovate, innovate by technology to save our planet. According to Mann there is no dialogue between the prophets and the wizards. He shares the same insights as the late Barry Commoner: don’t be a fundamental utopist whether you are more on the eco or more on the techno side. In the end, human civilisation is about considering both, the eco-sphere and the techno-sphere and the way in which they relate to each other.

what kind of circular eco- or techno-system do you want to live in? Would you opt for technological circular fashion? With clothes you could spray on the body or colour by nanotechnology?

Or do you prefer the bio circular fashion? With fabrics from mycelium and coloured by bacteria? Do you want to design a circular future based on nature, or technology? Or are you the designer who can merge these opposite concepts into a real sustainable and circular fashion system?

https://www.vollebak.com/product/plant-and-algae-t-shirt/ 

creation of new materials from waste:

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/usa-blog/7-fashion-brands-that-are-designing-out-waste/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviapinnock/2019/01/23/5-innovative-fashion-materials-made-from-food-byproducts/#2afd3c5b5749

in Thinking about a circular future, we have to consider what kind of potential future we prefer. Using design principles are just a method. But methods are always part of a methodology, which is embedded in an ideological system. Systems built upon cultural norms and values, framed by an existent paradigm.

The future is never a dark hole and you can predict some near futures based on knowledge and experiences from the past or current life. Futurologists distinguish different kind of futures, visualized in a Futures Cone. The futures cone shows us a broad perspective on a potential future. But within this potential future you could have possible, plausible, probable or preferable futures. What is possible, we do not necessarily want, and what we prefer seems sometimes impossible.

The first futures cone has been criticized for looking to the future from only one contemporary perspective. However, we look at it from different perspectives that ultimately influence what is desirable, probable, possible or plausible.

if we look back to the cone of the past, we can find some excellent examples of artefacts based on circular design principles, such as minimal waste, physical and emotional durability and cyclability. made from one, locally available material, made for at least one lifetime and at the end of life completely and easily recyclable.

Can we also find some fine examples of sustainable, circular designed garments now?

perhaps so? for example is the ultimate no waste garment still a flat piece of woven fabric. Used for example as a classical tunic, as an Asian kimono or a monk’s habit. Patterns are rectangular, the fabrics are made from one type of yarn. These traditional clothes are durable in two ways: a very high physical quality and a timeless look.  this method includes both reduce and repair. for example the monk's habit. It is used for a long period of time, and the cloth is cherished and repaired when needed. The monk does not need for other types of clothing and reduces his need for clothing consumption altogether. This is an example of reduce and repair. We cannot be certain that the cloth was reused after its function as a monk’s habit. In addition, there is no information given regarding the recycling of such garments. 

or the classic tunic. A flat piece of woven fabric, cut straight from the fabric without any fabric cutting waste. It is an example of design for minimal waste. One could speculate that the example from the video is a historical example, when garments were worn for a long period of time and were designed for durability and cyclability (as many garments were often worn by multiple family members). This however remains speculation.

Here, we are talking about clothes, and not about fashion. These clothes are not just for one season, but for a lifetime, or even beyond. What we see in the next example are clothes, for which design is not the only outcome of using circular and sustainable design principles. Materials, shapes, colours, advanced craft techniques for production and repairing methods are all embedded in a rich cultural, social and economic tradition, embedded in collectively shared values and norms. In short: embedded in a cultural ideology.

A circular future is not only about using circular design principles. You have to rethink cultural, social and ethic values. You have to think and rethink the ideological context of your life. The most important values have to do with opposite concepts like: 

Individuality versus Collectivity 

Tradition versus Innovation

Quantity versus Quality

Affordable for everyone or only accessible to the rich elite.

Do we want to design a circular future based on conservative or progressive values, on a elitist or egalitarian society? Or are you the designer who can merge these opposite concepts into a real sustainable and circular fashion system without waste, without use of toxic materials, with a timeless designed garment which is part of an endless lifecycle, as part of a new paradigm?

fashion: Design for the Future

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a30443407/what-is-the-future-of-fashion/

The circular economy lacks a common language. Even though there has seen a significant increase in interest in the circular economy and in circular principles over the past few years Many mention these terms without really explaining what they mean. And, even if the term is defined, the definition varies widely. Depending on the problem being addressed, the audience, or the lens through which the author views the world. As there is no common definition or language, it's hard for businesses or cities to understand how to apply circular strategies.

https://www.circle-economy.com

At Circle Economy, they've made a start, at mapping the language that's already used by various actors in the circular economy space. this they've developed a framework, called DISRUPT.

It has 7 key elements

the first element, is 'Design for the Future'.

Designers are often seen as being at the helm when it comes to driving sustainable change in the fashion Industry. And it is no wonder why, when an estimated 80% of a product’s environmental and economic impact is determined at the design stage. But how can you design for the future? And what exactly is circular design? We define Circular Design, according to three key strategies;

Minimal Waste, Durability and Cyclability. 

Each of these strategies breaks down further,

Firstly, design for minimal waste. All along the textile supply chain, textile waste is generated, whether post-industrial, pre-consumer or post-consumer textiles. Designers can help to tackle the textile waste mountain in two ways;

1) by applying deliberate design strategies to use their materials as efficiently as possible incorporating zero waste pattern techniques, for instance. Or using advanced technological solutions to produce on demand, or develop their products using 3D modelling techniques. designers can source and re-use existing textile waste streams, thereby reducing the need for virgin fabrics.

2) design for durability. Between 2000 and 2014, the average consumer started buying 60% more garments and using their garments for half as long. This fast cycle of consumption and disposal, is fuelled in part, by the twin methods of planned and perceived obsolescence. Planned obsolescence means that clothing is designed for a short life; designed to break, designed to fall apart. And perceived obsolescence means that consumers perceive that their clothing is outdated, is old. Because of the advance of new trends, styles. The first cornerstone in beating planned and perceived obsolescence is to design garments that last. We know that extending the life of clothing by an extra nine months alone,would reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by around 20–30%.

So how do we design for durability? There are two strategies.

Whether it is using high quality materials, finishings, and construction, or ensuring that style and fit are timeless and not trend-sensitive: physical durability is all about designing and constructing a garment so that it can resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life. durability is not all about quality. An emotional durability may play an important role too. As Professor Jonathan Chapman said 'Waste is nothing more than a failed relationship'. by designing garments that engage and delight the consumer over time, our heightened emotional attachment and satisfaction with them can ultimately save them from landfill.

how can you design products that get more beautiful with age for instance? Or invite you to co-create with them. Some scientists and design experts are even questioning whether longer garment lives are always necessarily a good thing. And rather a push in the industry to consider design for appropriate life cycle. For example when designing with intent, could a short-cycle, but hyper-recyclable, fast-fashion garment, acually be the future of fashion?Food for thought.

design for cyclability. While designing for long life is a basic and critical principle of the circular economy, the unavoidable truth is that all garments will eventually be disposed of by the consumer. And what then? A good design will plan for this inevitability. Designers need to adopt a ‘pro-active’ systems-based approach that identifies potential barriers to repair, reuse and recycling at the outset and in doing so ‘designs out’ complicating factors. So while repair and reuse of garments is often tackled through the business model for instance, clever design and the application of disassembly and modularity principles can further optimise this strategy. Conducting research and user testing, to assess where the damage is likely to occur in a garment, allows us to design in such a way that a product part can be easily replaced, upgraded, or fixed once damaged.

When a garment can no longer be repaired or reused, it should be recycled back into new high-quality textiles. In order for designers to correctly design for a recycling, they must firstly understand the current and upcoming processes that occur at a product’s end-of-life, so that they can ensure their products have effective ‘inbuilt’ recycling routes that can be easily and fully incorporated back into the material cycle.

Basic guidelines here include the use of mono fibre, mono material for ease of recycling, the elimination of hazardous toxins, dyestuffs, and coatings, and the elimination of any physical contaminants such as hardware, embellishment or electronics. there are multiple concrete ways, in which we can design garments for the future.

ways to design for the future: minimal waste, durability and cyclability, examples:

using Dyneema® ultra-lightweight fibre. Weight for weight, Dyneema® ultra-lightweight fibre is up to 15 times stronger than steel and up to 40 percent stronger than aramid fibre. It is therefore designed for durability, as the fiber is much stronger than regular fibres, so we assume that due to its strength, the garment and will not show signs of wear and tear as quickly as garments without the Dyneema® fibre. https://www.dsm.com/dyneema/en_GB/home.html

using 3D design programmes. 3D programmes helps identify how patterns can be cut to minimize textile cutting waste. Therefore, it is designed for minimal waste.

using Petit Pli for children .The clothing offered by Petit Pli is designed to grow with your children as they get older. The aim is to reduce the need for children’s clothing, as they change clothing size frequently in early stages of life. As the garment is expected to be worn for multiple use phases (from 9 months to 4 years), using materials and production techniques that allow for such heavy usage is a typical example of design for durability. Additionally, this is an example of design for cyclability, as the garments are expected to be used for a longer period of time, hopefully by multiple families and children. https://shop.petitpli.com/pages/lets-talk-about-us

fashion revolution for the future of sustainability

Imagine that in ten years from now, we will only lend, lease and swap our clothes. Or maybe we will grow new textile materials in our own garden?

is it possible? What would materials look smell or feel like?

 the transition to a circular fashion industry shows two curves: the line that starts above represents the current ’old’ system. The fashion industry as we know it today with its linear supply chains of take, make, use and dispose. The other line represents the system that we’re developing as we speak: the one that is circular and brings waste back as a resource.the lines cross each other: that is where the old system will break down and will start making place for the new.

 At the moment efforts mainly go to optimalization, which means that we’re trying to ’fix’ the flaws in the current system. One example is the creation of a range of different certification labels to monitor fair labour practices and environmental standards in textiles. Taking responsibility like that is important, but the variety of labels often end up confusing the consumer and they don’t really address fundamental systems change.

 What we see is that some entrepreneurs establish sustainable fashion brands and develop more transparent and fair supply chains.This is wonderful, but it also brings ever more clothing to the market: clothing that will be sold, worn and then needs to be discarded. And we really already have enough clothes in the world and don’t need more new clothes to be produced. Therefore, it is great to see that innovators are experimenting with new business models to extend the use phase of clothing. An example is the Dutch denim brand Mud Jeans that initiated the concept of ’Lease a jeans’. My dress is from a clothing library where you can borrow clothing just like borrowing books in a regular library. Ownership of clothing is becoming less important, swapping and lending are the new ways of continuously reviving your wardrobe without having to spend a fortune.

 New business models to extend the user phase and technologies that recycle textiles are crucial for the transition to a circular fashion industry, but they don’t address fundamental systems change. Because why do we have so much textile waste that then needs to be recycled? Would it not be possible to create clothes in such a was that we produce less waste? For example by deriving inspiration from nature?

for example an autumn forest: the falling leaves are not leading to pollution of the soil, but are nourishing that very soil. What can we learn from nature and biomimicry in order to transition to a circular fashion system? Pioneers are taking this question to heart and they're experimenting with developing new, bio-based materials such as this prototype purse made of mycelium the jewelery item made from banana leaves and this bracelet made from fish skin. These new material ‘categories’ often have anti-bacterial properties and are biodegradable so won’t add to the textile waste mountain. It is crucial that such innovations are further developed with scientific research and impact investments.

‘When will I see such materials in a real store?’ H&M has already launched a conscious exclusive collection in 2019 showcasing a jacket with silver coated pinatex, a leather-like material crafted from pineapple

https://www.barefashion.co.uk/hm-has-launched-a-collection-of-vegan-pineapple-leather-jackets/

 The question is if we, as ‘users’ of fashion, want this: do we want to wear algae shirts in the future? We see that user behaviour is culturally deeply anchored and that circularity is really not only about material streams, but about our values and the way in which we value or revalue goods and services. In our society, the focus is mainly on economic value, which is the amount a user is willing to pay for a good. Clothes, just like most products and services, can and should be valued in multiple ways, beyond only the economic.  For example, when your T-shirt is produced by someone who has received a fair wage, it has created social value in the process. if it is made of organic cotton, then it also captures environmental value.We should also take into account the value of comfort Of how a fabric wears on the skin as well as the aesthetic appeal of a garment And maybe your jacket used to belong to your grandfather and thus carries a certain emotional value? So in order to be able to move beyond only a focus on economic value and include other types of value, we need a different mindset. then we arrive at the question: what is necessary on a personal level? You need to ask yourself what you find important, what has value for you?

 In summary, we have seen that there is the need to break down the old system and to nurture the new. What is mainly important, is out of the box thinking and a radically different approach to which everyone can contribute. Innovating and experimenting are crucial to make the transition to a new fashion system,