The potential for a more circular fashion industry
The global market of fast fashion in 2018 was worth USD 35 billion, compared with USD 21 billion in 2008. It is expected to grow to USD 44 billion in 2028 (O’Connell 2019).
The fast fashion industry is very destructive for both the environment and natural resources (Reichart and Drew 2019; UNEP 2019b). About one out of every five t-shirts bought in 2019 will end up in a landfill within a year (Constable 2019). Fast fashion moves clothes quickly from production to consumption, often because consumers are looking for the latest styles. Because these clothes are made of fabric that tends to fall apart quickly, consumers buy more clothes more often (Still 2017).
Figure 4.2 shows how the fashion industry could become more circular, moving from a “cradle-to-grave” model (clothes are made, worn a few times and thrown away) to a “cradle-to-cradle” way of making them. For example, clothes could be made of fibres that can be composted or reused, worn many times, and – if they are not properly disposed of – reused and repaired to make more clothes or other items.
