A new book by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation features pioneering fashion designers and brands who share their approach to designing for a circular economy. Here, editor Elodie Rousselot picks six of the most innovative.
The Circular Design for Fashion book is part instruction manual, part manifesto, and features practical insights from more than 88 contributors ranging from luxury conglomerates to independent labels from London to Lagos.
Following on from the foundation's more general guide to circular design, this latest publication zeroes in on the global fashion industry, which emits more greenhouse gases every year than France, Germany and the UK combined. Eighty-seven per cent of the textiles used to make clothing end up incinerated or in landfills. Nigerian label Orange Culture (top image) contributed to the Circular Design for Fashion book (above)
But in the last few years, many brands and designers in this space have started taking steps to eliminate waste and pollution from the lifecycle of their products.
"I think we're witnessing a beautiful moment in the industry, where many are actively looking at how they can change their businesses and the way they design products to be fit for the circular economy," said Rousselot, who is a strategic design manager at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Circular design is about regeneration
This includes thinking beyond just end-of-life solutions, such as turning plastic bottles into T-shirts, to instead move towards a...