Organisations will create network to accelerate re-commerce and rental business models in the apparel industry. © Fashion for Good

Circle Economy has announced the strategic partnership of Fashion for Good, the global initiative to make all fashion good, with its Switching Gear project. The initiative aims to accelerate re-commerce and rental business models in the apparel industry. The project will work with six brands on a circular innovation process that will help them to design and launch these new types of business model pilots by 2021.

Through this partnership, Circle Economy and Fashion for Good aim to establish a powerful, global network of over 50 frontrunning solution providers and innovators, brands, and rental and re-commerce experts to exchange insights and tangible solutions to move the apparel industry towards circular business models that can create a positive impact for people and the environment.

Circle Economy confirms the following first founding members of the Enabling Network: Eileen Fisher, Gibbon, MUD jeans, Reflaunt, RePack, Stuffstr, Style Lend, The Next Closet, The Renewal Workshop.

Shift towards fast fashion

The past two decades have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of times clothes are worn. Coupled with a shift towards fast fashion, average consumers today buy 60% more items than they did 15 years ago and wear them for half as long. 70% of closets usually go unworn and it is estimated that 33% of women wear items as little as five times before disposing of them.

The network will work to bring the topic of apparel rental and the re-commerce market to the fashion industry global agenda, connecting brands with circular innovators and providers, as well as build and share knowledge.

“We are very excited to build the Switching Gear network together with Fashion for Good. We strongly believe that connecting a powerful and active community of brands, solutions providers and experts is key to advancing the practical implementation of circular business models in the market,” said Gwen Cunningham, Program Lead of Circle Economy.

Bridging the Gap

The network, supported by C&A Foundation, is part of the Bridging the Gap initiative, a group of six organisations working to stimulate sector-wide collaboration, facilitate innovative technologies and the design of best practices to enable the implementation of circular business models in the fashion industry’s supply chain. Other strategic partners of the Bridging the Gap group include the World Resources Institute, WRAP, London Waste and Recycling Board, QSA Partners and Forum for the Future.

“Working together as part of the Bridging the Gap initiative, Circle Economy and Fashion for Good, can assess the needs of brands and connect them with innovators and experts working to solve the issues preventing the implementation of circular business models. This network will be a powerful platform to create and share knowledge about how to implement and give scale to the clothing rent and re-commerce system, so we can make fashion a force for good,” commented Douwe Jan Joustra, Head of Circular Transformation at C&A Foundation.

Joining the movement

Re-commerce, rental, and leasing offer commercial opportunities for brands to innovate their business model while optimising the useful life of clothes to their full potential and reducing the overall impact of the industry.

The Circle Economy project team is currently onboarding six core brands for the pilot development, as well as interested solution providers, innovators, brands and experts for the Switching Gear Enabling Network. “Brands and organisations interested in joining this movement to make fashion circular should contact us,” added Ms Cunningham.

www.circle-economy.com

www.fashionforgood.com