Fashion industry: little progress in the circular economy

Climate sinners: clothing: Using a ten-point scale, the "Circular Fashion Index 2023 (CFX)," international management consultancy Kearney assesses how fashion companies extend the life cycle of their products in terms of a circular economy. The study examined 200 labels from 20 countries in six apparel categories: sports/outdoor, lingerie, luxury, premium/affordable luxury, mass market and fast fashion. This provides companies in the fashion industry with an objective tool to record their own status and initiate improvement measures with regard to the circular economy - actually. Unfortunately, the authors of the study regret that the results are sobering for the industry.

Fashion industry: one of the biggest polluters of the environment

Despite the fashion pact presented at the 2019 G7 summit in France, the industry remains one of the world's biggest polluters. The average CFX score of all 200 global brands is a meagre 2.97 out of 10 points. "Compared to the 2022 results, all brands are between 2 and 6. They have failed to educate consumers about the importance of sustainability and inform them about measures such as recycling, upcycling and clothing rental," says Mirko Warschun, Partner at Kearney. "Only 19 of the 200 global brands we surveyed scored higher than 5 out of 10, and only the top three brands scored higher than 7 in all areas. This year's CFX shows that concrete action is needed to close the gap and move the industry towards greater sustainability and circularity," says Frederic Dittmar, co-author of the report and manager at Kearney.

No movement at the top

As in previous years, the frontrunners are Patagonia, Levi's and The North Face with CFX values of 8.65, 8.30 and 7.90 respectively. The first two were able to improve slightly: Patagonia by communicating their efforts to recycle more and internally assessing the recyclability of their products according to a 10-point program. Similarly, Levi's, which also communicates its sustainability efforts externally. The company has also launched its own page for recycled denim products. In 6th place in the ranking, the US brand Madewell is the rising star of the year. With its "Madewell Forever" program and the take-back of used goods, the label scores particularly well in the second-hand sector. Swiss outdoor specialist Mammut is also on the right track. It is showing the way in the areas of recycled materials, communication, care instructions and repair service.

France best average value. India brings up the rear

The regional comparison is also interesting: the majority of the brands surveyed (80 percent) come from the USA, Germany, France, Italy, India and the UK. Five of the top ten brands come from the USA. France has the best average score of 3.43, but has no label in the top 10. However, 50 percent of French brands are in the top quarter with a high proportion of recycled materials. But German brands also perform well. The German company Esprit is represented in the top 10 and Adidas, Hugo Boss and C&A are also in the top quarter. Overall, the German brands stand out with 3.05 points for their sustainability communication. Italian brands are OVS (4th place) and Gucci (5th place), followed by Moncler. Four British brands are represented in the top 25 percent (Burberry, Alexander McQueen, River Island and Barbour), as they are increasingly concerned with the disposal of used clothing. India is well below the average with a CFX value of 1.51. All Indian brands are in the bottom half of the ranking and perform poorly in almost all categories. Source: Kearney The post Fashion industry: little progress in the circular economy appeared first on Organizer.