There’s no debating that the fashion industry is on an unsustainable and destructive trajectory. A large part of this, aside from the attitudes around consumption and the materials used, is the production model itself. Modern fashion currently operates under a linear production and consumption model, meaning that brands are predicting the demand for each item and often overestimating. Of the more than 100 billion items of clothing produced each year, some 20% go unsold. Leftovers are usually buried, shredded or incinerated.

The same fate usually waits for those garments that are purchased and discarded, as a trend-focused cycle discourages repurposing. In fact, in the last 15 years the industry has doubled production, while the time clothing is worn before it is thrown away has fallen by around 40%. When it is thrown away, 73% will be burned or buried in landfill.

To discuss new innovative sustainable business models, last month CFS hosted a Clubhouse seminar on the time economy, with speakers from Nina Shariati - Founder of Circular Transparency & Donate Hour and Sindiso Khumalo - Designer of Sindiso Khumalo, exploring the operations of things in the manufacturing stage. Here are the key takeaways.

A Shift Away From the Linear Model Is Already Underway

In a circular economy products are designed and developed with the next use in mind. This addresses not only the waste at the end-use phase of the garment life cycle but also provides the opportunity for businesses to approach manufacturing more efficiently. Nina Shariati, Founder of Circular Transparency and Donate Hour, says this type of rethinking is already happening, albeit not at a large enough scale. “There is innovation happening and the rise of AI and social media and on-demand manufacturing is starting to disrupt the old system,” she says. “However, this isn’t anywhere close to being the majority.”

A Shift Away From the Linear Model Is Already Underway

In a circular economy products are designed and developed with the next use in mind. This addresses not only the waste at the end-use phase of the garment life cycle but also provides the opportunity for businesses to approach manufacturing more efficiently. Nina Shariati, Founder of Circular Transparency and Donate Hour, says this type of rethinking is already happening, albeit not at a large enough scale. “There is innovation happening and the rise of AI and social media and on-demand manufacturing is starting to disrupt the old system,” she says. “However, this isn’t anywhere close to being the majority.”

A New Model Involves Having an Inclusive Conversation With Consumers

While it's integral that brands make a commitment to shifting to a more sustainable and circular fashion model to address the climate crisis, Khumalo believes the change can’t come from designers alone. “The conversation about sustainability can’t be at the hands of the fashion industry, because the industry is reacting to consumers,” she says. “There also needs to be discussions with consumers about how to consume slower and less.” This involves teaching customers how to look after their clothes in order to lengthen the use-phase of the garment life cycle. “I want to make clothes that my clients' grandchildren can eventually own,” says Khumalo.

Shariati also fears that without addressing ideas around mass consumption on a consumer level, even made-to-order garments will continue to be made at a rate that is also unsustainable. “Even if it’s on-demand manufacturing, if we as citizens keep driving sales more we will still speed up production even more,” she says. 

Creating Local and Made-to-Order Clothing

On the manufacturing side, a clear way to address the gap in predicted demand and actual demand is made-to-order garments. This is something that Sindiso Khumalo, Fashion Designer of her eponymous brand Sindiso Khumalo, works on as an independent designer who makes 99% of her garments to order. The key to this method, she says, is keeping manufacturing and production processes local. “Working locally shortens your lead-time because you’re directly there, if we want to change things it’s within a week or two not a month or two,” she says. 

Along with their being “less back and forth” when working locally, Khumalo says being on the ground and having personal relationships with manufacturers allows her to “tick the transparency box” as she can drop in at any moment. “Every single garment is made by a human hand. It’s a high level of craft to make even a t-shirt and so ensuring that that person has been treated the right way and has the respect and dignity of the work that they’re doing is really important,” she says.

We Must Embrace Data and Technology-Led Solutions

Part of this much-needed shift from consumers and brands involves embracing new technologies that can assist with recreating the production and consumption models. One example of this, says Khumalo, is buyers making product purchases online, as a result of the pandemic. Not having to travel for market events allows designers to work on things in a virtual way. 

This also includes more data-driven solutions such as lablaco’s circular retail platform. Armed with more product-specific data, we can create an ecosystem where sorters can easily scan it and access previous information for resellers and renters, as well as know immediately how to recycle the garments to reduce overstock.