What is a Circular Economy?

As we dive deeper into what sustainable fashion is and how your carefully invested purchases can actually help the planet, many buzzwords come up, especially circular fashion. To safeguard against falling prey to false claims, or greenwashing, it’s important to understand what a circular economy is first.

Circular Economy Definition

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines the circular economy as: designing out waste and pollution; keeping products and materials in use; regenerating natural systems.1

The website Common Objective shares this easy to understand illustration comparing linear economy, recycling economy and circular economy. 

Common Objective's simple illustration of a circular economy

To fully understand the benefits of a circular economy, it is important to realize that the current model of production is linear. In other words, “​​Resources are extracted from the planet, turned into products and then thrown away when no longer required.”3 Earth’s resources ultimately end up in the trash. 

What is circular fashion?

Did you know that “less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments.”3 Figuring out ways to elongate the life of a dress or a pair of pants - and later giving them a second existence instead of throwing them away - is what can start improving that tiny, singular percent. This starts pushing fashion towards a circular economy.

It is possible to produce clothing that wears so long if it’s washed, mended and cared for that it actually completely stays out of landfill. This is Modern Shibori’s goal for our customers. We want to create clothing from the highest possible quality fabrics that our customers will keep them forever and pass them on. It’s very easy and doesn’t take additional time to care for your garments that bring you so much joy. 

Long-lasting Clothing

 At Modern Shibori, pieces are subtly refined and tweaked over time for a well-curated long lasting wardrobe that transcends trends and time. So not only do the silhouettes never go out of style, also the pieces age beautifully. We use GOTS-certified organic fabrics that are milled to last, intentionally strong seam construction and the highest quality natural dyes.

We also encourage you to upcycle your garments if they get holes or tears. It can happen. Read about the sustainable benefits of upcycling clothing. Click through this blog for so many ideas on how to mend your clothes either visibly or invisibly. It's so rewarding.

There are many ways to contribute to fighting this waste that fashion generates. Are you interested in circular fashion? Pop a "YES" in the comments below.

1 https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview

2 https://www.commonobjective.co/article/what-is-circular-fashion

3 ​​https://www.commonobjective.co/article/fashion-and-waste-an-uneasy-relationship
Sustainability

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Comments


  • Yes thank you for your information!
    One of my favorite shirts I purchased from a friends store Mixt and was your hand made beautiful shirt, from sometime back. It is still like new because of your beautiful fabric .

    Maggie on
  • Circular Fashion.
    Make a garment . Use the scrap material to make appliques on a second garment.

    Chalice Fong on
  • Jenny,
    I found a lady that uses fabric scraps to stuff dog beds for foster dogs! It is perfect use of every last bit of fabric. A local mask making group had given her trash bags full of tiny pieces.

    Heather on
  • Hi Heather,
    Thanks for reading my post! There are so many fun ways you can repair your jeans. I have a pair of jeans I’m gonna make into shorts. Then I’ll save the scraps to make patches for something else. Once you start saving scraps, you realize how much waste can be kept out of landfill. 🙌🏽

    Jenny on
  • I love this post.
    I currently have a pair of blue jeans sitting in my sewing room waiting to be transformed into something else. They got torn in places that can’t be fixed and no one wants to see my undies. 😊
    Be creative and stay well,
    Heather

    Heather on

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