Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Laura Balmond: ‘circularity isn’t a product, it’s a system’
Motivated by the threat of limited resources and a growing concern among consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases, the fashion industry is embracing the idea of circular fashion. However, without an industry-wide, agreed-upon definition, the concept of a circular fashion system has become distorted as more and more brands apply the term in their marketing.
In this episode of Crash Course Fashion, hear SFF founder Brittany Sierra in conversation with Laura Balmond, Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Fashion Initiative Lead, to discuss what makes a circular product, the government’s role in accelerating the industry’s transition to a circular economy, what's needed to enable (and finance) circular systems across markets, and more!
Behind the star-studded runway shows and glossy magazine pages, fashion has a dirty little secret. Fashion's “make-take-dispose” linear system of production, consumption and disposal is extraordinarily wasteful and is wreaking havoc on our environment.
Motivated by the threat of limited resources and a growing concern among consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases, the fashion industry is embracing the idea of circular fashion. If fashion could adopt a closed-loop system, materials would be endlessly reused and recycled, thus eliminating waste and pollution by limiting the extractive production of virgin raw materials, regenerating natural systems, and decreasing textile waste.
Achieving an industry-wide circular system is a lofty ambition that will take large-scale innovation and significant funding to decouple revenue from production from raw material production.
However, without an agreed-upon definition, the concept of a circular fashion system has become distorted as the industry continues to center the conversation on material recovery or on resale and rental, which are enablers of the circular system but are not circular in and of themselves.
In this episode of the Crash Course Fashion podcast, Laura Balmond, Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Fashion Initiative Lead, explains that even if a product is designed with circular principles, a product alone cannot be circular. Instead, it is the system that enables it to be circular.
On April 22-23th, we’re gathering the next generation of sustainability advocates, industry experts, leaders, and dynamic change-makers on the URL to spark cross-industry conversations, cultivate collaboration, and accelerate the action-based solutions that will shape the future of fashion.
Known for asking tough questions that ignite conversation and inspire change, we’re thrilled to bring the SFF community back together for a weekend of unparalleled discovery, learning, and networking with curious minds from around the world — all from the comfort of your own home (or wherever you have Wi-Fi!).
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