What if saving the planet was a matter of style?
As the world searches for solutions to climate change, a group of Italian innovators has found the answer in a surprising place: our wardrobe. Fashion, often criticized as a major contributor to global pollution, is about to overturn this perception. And it is doing so with style, creativity and that unmistakable touch of all-Italian “amore.”
The fashion industry has always experienced a paradox: it has a nature that is often perceived as ephemeral, but in reality it represents a considerable global business in size and value. Indeed, it is an economic giant that accounts for 2% of the world’s GDP. Unfortunately, however, it also has a detrimental impact on the environment, responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
But what if this apparent “villain” turned into the heroic protagonist of a story in which they contribute to saving our planet?
A recent study entitled “Tackling Climate Change with End-of-Life Circular Fashion Practices – Remade in Italy with Amore,” published in the influential British Journal of Management, turned the spotlight on a group of Italian companies that are doing exactly that. Mariachiara Colucci of the University of Bologna and Alessandra Vecchi of the University of Ferrara explored how these born-circular companies are transforming the concept of product “end-of-life” into a new beginning.
Two circular practices, which have remained behind the scenes until now, may in the not-too-distant future steal the show, as they are considered the most promising for achieving the greatest environmental benefits. These are: upcycling, which transforms old garments into unique pieces of high fashion, and remanufacturing, which gives new life to products, making them even better than new garments.
The study identified a six-step process to make this transformation a best practice to spread across the industry globally:
- Evaluating and overcoming multiple obstacles to the implementation of circular practices, such as production constraints, technical difficulties, and financial viability.
- Developing marketing strategies to promote circularity by improving the accessibility of circular products and effectively communicating their value.
- Bridging the cultural gap by educating consumers, clarifying semantic confusion and promoting a new transparency-oriented business mindset.
- Implementing upcycling and remanufacturing practices, enhancing the craftsmanship and longevity of products.
- Adopting other circular end-of-life practices, such as fiber recycling and reuse and addressing the challenges that come with it.
- Contributing tangibly to tackling climate change by adopting an appropriate regulatory approach, leveraging post-pandemic awareness, and implementing complementary practices to reduce the carbon footprint.
Each stage of this journey is an adventure filled with challenges to be overcome and apparent contradictions to be resolved, in which marketing emerges as the director, tasked with making circular products affordable for all, using image and communication to support new practices, turning stores into ambassadors of circularity, and educating consumers about a new vision of fashion.
One of the most relevant aspects that emerged from the study is the need to bridge the cultural gap present both within the fashion industry (between manufacturers, designers, and brands) and in the marketplace (among consumers). This involves a twofold effort: on the one hand, educating consumers about circular practices and their impact; and on the other, standardizing concepts and practices related to the circular economy within the industry itself. Transparency throughout the supply chain has proven to be the key element in achieving this goal, building trust and credibility both among industry players and with consumers.
Italy’s typically small born-circular companies are demonstrating that it is possible to combine traditional approaches and innovative thinking, creativity and sustainability, so much so that they provide an emblematic example of what are called “real utopias” in the literature. Indeed, the companies in the study’s sample are artisanally implementing upcycling and remanufacturing, anything that can increase product longevity, as well as other end-of-life practices, predominantly such as recycling and reuse. But the real challenge now is to take this revolution to scale. How can medium and large fashion companies adopt these practices? How can the industry balance mass production with the craftsmanship required, for example, by upcycling or the difficulty in planning the type of product to be remanufactured?
In the conclusion, the study reminds us that the real key to addressing climate change through circular fashion may be that very love mentioned in the title. Love for creativity, for craftsmanship, and above all, for our planet.
Italian fashion, with its unparalleled tradition of style and at the same time with its drive for continuous innovation, could be the perfect protagonist to lead this sustainable revolution.
As the curtain closes on this study, which should be read and delved into in its original and complete version, one thing is clear: the future of fashion is not only green, but circular, creative and, above all, “Remade in Italy with Amore.”
