Decathlon, eBay, and John Lewis are among the latest cohort of retailers to join Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s ‘The Fashion ReModel’ and start to explore how to become more circular and make money without making new clothes.
Other major brand names, including Crystal S.A.S and Coach parent company Tapestry, are part of the second wave of companies to join the project which launched in May 2024 at the Global Fashion Summit with the mission to embed circular business models into everyday operations.
Those involved from the outset include H&M Group’s stable of fashion brands, Primark, and Reformation, as well as Arc’teryx and Zalando.
Together, the aim is to demonstrate how businesses can seize the economic opportunity of beginning to break the link between revenue and new garment production, in recognition the fashion industry, as it stands, is hugely wasteful and a key contributor to environmental problems.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation believes that business-led action alongside strong policy measures and better design choices, can lead to the growth of circular business models – and it is targeting 23% of the global fashion market to be “circular” by 2030.
Jules Lennon, fashion lead at the foundation, said: “Brands and retailers joining The Fashion ReModel is a strong signal that industry leaders are ready to take the next step towards a new normal for the fashion industry, with circular business models at its heart.
“While practices including rental, repair, and resale are already firmly on the agenda of businesses across the globe, successfully implementing them has often proved challenging, resulting in them remaining at a small scale.”
She added: “Brands must now demonstrate that they can take the next step and embed these models into their core operations, driving change towards an industry where clothes are kept in use for longer and their lives are extended to many more people.”
Maeva Lombardo, sustainability director at Decathlon, remarked: “Joining this project offers a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our business model transformation towards essential circular solutions for the apparel industry.
“Reuse, second life, and repair are central to our sustainability commitment, making this a natural next step in building a more responsible future and it reflects our shared conviction that industry-wide collaboration is essential to transform our practices in service of the planet.”
Decathlon, led by chief sustainability officer (CSO) Anna Turrell over the last two years, has grown its circularity efforts considerably – developing its take-back and resell schemes as well as introducing rental products via stores nationwide. Turrell stepped down from the CSO role in February.
Read more about Decathlon on Green Retail World
[image credit: Green Retail World]
