Durability vs. Recyclability: What’s More Sustainable?
In a perfect world, the clothes we wear would be both durable enough to have a long life and fully recyclable once worn out. However, the reality is, durability and recyclability are often conflicting goals. When you design for recyclability, you often give up durability, and when you design for durability, recyclability is often sacrificed.
First, it’s important to note that most of the fashion industry isn’t focusing on durability or recyclability. Most companies operate linearly, extracting virgin resources to create products, which consumers then use and dispose of once its reached its perceived end-of-life. Needless to say, this generates a massive amount of waste. Under the current model, most fashion is made with new materials that are sold, worn, thrown away, sent to the landfill, or incinerated — this is referred to as a “take-make-dispose” model.
Motivated by the threat of limited resources and a growing concern among consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases, brands have pinpointed circular fashion as a potential solution to fashion’s most pressing problems.
Circular fashion has significant potential to “close the loop” by alleviating the strain on virgin resources and reducing the number of used textiles that end up in landfills.
Theoretically, if fashion could achieve a fully closed-loop system, no garment would ever go to the landfill. Clothing materials would endlessly loop through textile and garment factories, stores, your closet, second hand retailers, textile recyclers, and then back to textile factories again.
Under the tenets of circular fashion, garments should be recyclable and durable. They should be designed with their end-of-life in mind and built to last.
However, durability and recyclability are often conflicting goals.
Why?
In terms of textile recycling, the materials used to make the most durable products are often challenging — sometimes impossible — to pull apart and recycle.
For example, suppose a synthetic fabric is used in the design of a product to give it a particular technical function and increase durability. In that case, the garment will now last longer. It may even need to be washed less depending on the technical enhancement. Additionally, a durable garment is more likely to be resold secondhand instead of discarded. However, the synthetics in the fabric make it nearly impossible for that garment to be recycled. While companies are pioneering new technology and pushing innovations in textile-to-textile recycling forward, there isn’t currently infrastructure or the ability to recycle mixed fiber garments at scale.
Even recycling “mono materials” like cotton presents its own challenges. Typically, cotton is recycled through a mechanical method which shreds the fabric into yarn and then further shreds it into raw fiber. During the mechanical recycling process, the fiber loses its robustness and must be mixed with virgin material to reinforce its strength. Often brands will mix recycled cotton with recycled polyester for sweatshirts and T-shirts, consequently removing the recyclability of the resulting product. This blending of recycled fibers allows brands to boast “made from 100% recycled materials” in their marketing, but it actually disrupts a circular fashion system since the blended product can rarely be recycled.
Unfortunately, a truly closed-loop system where textiles are infinitely recycled, thus eliminating the need for any raw materials, is still a dream. With this in mind, where should brands focus? Some say they should focus on creating products that are designed to last in their original form.
Designed to Last.
Products that are "designed to last" are made in such a way that they keep their highest value throughout their lifecycle. In many ways, designing for durability has a greater opportunity to reduce carbon, water, and waste. Products that are designed to last are made with durability and repairability in mind so they can live a second, third, fourth life through channels like rental and resale.
Durability
Durability can be broken down into two categories:
Physical Durability — a product is literally made to last. The product is made in such a way that it can resist damage and wear and tear.
Emotional Durability — the design/practicality of a product is such that it will stay relevant and desirable to the user — or multiple users — over time.
Repair
In addition to creating durable products, products should be made with high-quality materials to extend their perceived end-of-life through repair and mending services. Additionally, brands should educate customers on how to maintain the longevity of the garment.
Designed to be Made Again.
Whether through composting, recycling, or remaking, in a circular fashion system, products should be designed so that they can be remade, reused, and recycled after maximum use and they've reached their end-of-life. This means products are able to be taken apart in such a way that allows their components and materials to be reused or recycled.
However, as mentioned, in terms of textile recycling, the materials used to make "built to last" products are often challenging and sometimes nearly impossible to pull apart and recycle at their end-of-life within the current infrastructure.
Therefore, what's more sustainable — creating a product with non-biodegradable, non-recyclable materials that can be well-loved and worn by multiple users before eventually ending up in the landfill—or creating a product that will break down sooner and may be recycled. (Even still, the recycled output may subsequently end up in landfills due to the constraints in our current recycling system or when mixed with non-recyclable/non-biodegradable material for strength and durability.)
What’s more important to customers? A product that will last or a product that can be recycled?
Is knowing that a garment can be worn for years and could have a second life with another consumer before ending up in a landfill best? Or, is understanding that it may not last as long but can be recycled best?
Ultimately, every brand aiming for sustainable practices and every conscious consumer must make this decision for themselves. In a new episode of the Crash Course Fashion podcast, SFF founder Brittany Sierra asked For Days founder Kristy Caylor her thoughts on durability vs. recyclability.
“I don’t think it should be a tradeoff. Longevity is essential, but recyclability at the end is also essential— the two should work hand in hand. If there are tradeoffs to be made, then I think about it at the category level. Products that have an inherent consumable component to them should be made for recyclability. Outerwear and shoes should be made for durability because they have a long lifecycle.” — Kristy Caylor, For Days
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