The Global Fashion Agenda's Circular Fashion Partnership (CFP) aims to achieve a long-term, scalable transition to a circular fashion system; beginning in the heart of fast-fashion production,
Bangladesh.
The Partnership brings together global apparel brands, manufacturers, recyclers
and retailers including Bershka, BESTSELLER, C&A, Gina
Tricot, Grey State, H&M Group, Kmart Australia, Lenzing
AG, Marks & Spencer, OVS,
Pull & Bear, Peak Performance ,
re:newcell
and Target Australia; along with Reverse Resources — a tracking and
trading platform for textile waste, The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA), and P4G — a nonprofit, global network
seeking breakthrough solutions for sustainable economic growth.
The Circular Fashion Partnership is designed to facilitate circular commercial
collaborations between major fashion brands, textile and garment manufacturers,
and recyclers to develop and implement new systems to capture and direct
post-production fashion waste back into the production of new fashion products.
It also seeks to find solutions for the COVID-19 related pile-up of deadstock,
and to engage regulators and investors around the current barriers and economic
opportunities in the country.
The initiative is focusing on Bangladesh — as it arguably possesses the most
in-demand and recyclable waste of any garment producing country, but the
majority of its waste is currently being exported and/or downcycled. Therefore,
there is a substantial opportunity to make it a leader in circularity by scaling
the recycling capacity in the country and generating more value from these waste
streams and building industry resilience for the future.
Miran Ali, Director at BGMEA, says:
Designing for Circularity-Friendly Behaviors
Join us as leaders from BBMG and REI examine how leading brands are innovating and scaling circular models to attract new fans and earn customer loyalty, all while eliminating waste — Thurs, May 9, at Brand-Led Culture Change.
“Circular economy is not merely just a concept; it is the future! Fashion is
historically following the linear model of business ‘take-make-dispose,’ but now
we stand at such a critical juncture where we cannot afford to continue this
linear model. Moreover, demand for circular apparel is increasing and brands are
coming with pledges towards it; so, as manufacturers, we have to embrace it and
align ourselves with the global trend. Bangladeshi factories typically produce
larger volumes of the same item, meaning that waste is more standardized;
therefore, Bangladesh can be a global leader in the area of circular economy. We
believe CFP is a good platform to start the journey.”
The business model and project learnings from the CFP’s first year will be
presented at the end of 2021 in a Circularity Playbook for Bangladesh, which
will be used as a guide to replicate the partnership in other countries, such as
Vietnam and Indonesia.
“The Circular Fashion Partnership is an excellent example of how P4G’s dynamic
network in Bangladesh and action-oriented, global ecosystem can work together to
deliver transformative impact in an industry that is critical to Bangladesh’s
economic recovery,” says Leila Yim Surratt, Director of Strategy and
Engagement at P4G. “We look forward to unlocking the investment potential of
this partnership and providing opportunities to share Bangladesh’s leadership
with other P4G country partners like Vietnam and Indonesia.”
Read more about the Circular Fashion Partnership and see the complete list of
participating companies
here. All global recycling solutions, and brands and manufacturers working in
Bangladesh are invited to join — click here
to learn more about participation.
Published Feb 15, 2021 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET
Sustainable Brands Staff