TheIndustry.fashion LIVE: Fashion's New Circular Opportunity - the highlights

British fashion has an ambitious aim to become a leading circular fashion economy. Yesterday's event examined what that means and how leading brands and retailers are working to achieve it.

Hosted in partnership with Bleckmann and sponsored by Avery Dennison, eBay and Supercycle, business leaders and panellists from fashion brands and retailers including Marks & Spencer, Burberry, Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, All Saints, Boden, Aligne, Depop and many more spent the day sharing insights on how to drive a more circular fashion industry.

The Sessions

Jemma Tadd, eBay

The global resale trailblazer

For the first panel of the day, Jemma Tadd, Head of Fashion at eBay UK, talked all things pre-loved, from the growing demand for fashion resale to the importance of authenticity to build trust.

Donning a jacket worn by Tom Clare in the first series of Love Island All Stars, which aired earlier this year, Tadd also discussed the success of its partnership with the popular ITV show in promoting a more sustainable approach to fashion.

"It is one of our most successful partnerships; the response has been brilliant! We launched the collaboration to change consumer perceptions around pre-loved fashion, and I do believe we've sparked a pre-loved boom, particularly with Gen Z," she said.

Scott Nelson, European Outdoor Group, Parisa Golshekan, COS and Ginny Seymour, ALIGNE

Renewal and repair: incorporating longevity into your business model

During the second session of the day, guests heard from Astra Vandenbussche, Business Intelligence Manager at Bleckmann; Ginny Seymour, Managing Director at ALIGNE; Parisa Golshekan, Sustainable Business Expert at COS; and Scott Nelson from European Outdoor Group.

The discussion uncovered ways businesses can harness circularity to achieve longevity – not just in terms of garments through repair and renewal services, but also how to utilise these initiatives to create value and increase customer loyalty.

"We can rescue up to 50% of damages coming in. Rescue and repairs are where we can stop clothing going to waste," said Vandenbussche.

"Customers want a circular way to discard their products. Our takeback service is an exciting and different way to engage with the customer," added Golshekan.

Ryan Atkins, Supercycle

A new vision for rental

Ryan Atkins, the Co-founder of Supercycle, unveiled insights on how rental can benefit both businesses and the planet. With the sector expected to reach $167 billion by 2023, fashion rental offers an attractive opportunity for brands and retailers to capitalise on its growing demand.

Atkins encourages brands to add rental to their own websites, allowing them to have total control over the customer experience whilst Supercycle takes away the R&D costs. He also recommends that brands should combine rental and sales for a more seamless experience.

"It's important to combine rental and sales at checkout. Whether you rent a dress and buy the accessories or rent a ski jacket and buy some stocks, it's all about creating one unified customer experience. It's also not just about online, so whether that's renting online and picking up in-store or renting in-store and shipping home," said Atkins.

Susan MacDonald, Wasted Threads, Rory Hugill, Pangaia, Justine Porterie, Depop

Circular first: how a new generation of brands are built on circular models

Justine Porterie, Director of Sustainability and DEI at Depop; Rory Hugill, Responsible Innovation and Impact at Pangaia; and Susan Macdonald, Co-founder of Wasted Threads, joined forces to discuss how their circular brands were birthed by a new generation of customers demanding sustainable shopping.

10 to 15 years ago, second-hand shopping wasn’t cool and wasn’t as readily available as it is today. New generations are spearheading the demand for circular fashion and allowing space for brands such as Depop, Pangaia and Wasted Threads to grow.

"The fashion industry is at a big turning point, but it takes time, energy, and patience," said Macdonald.

"These discussions around circular fashion were happening 10 to 15 years ago, but there were no resale platforms to be found. There was a stigma attached to buying second-hand but now it’s becoming mainstream. Gen Z are trailblazers in making resale cool. Now they're inspiring other generations," added Porterie.

Simon Platts, Recomme, Hannah Bernard, Avery Dennison

Circular transparency: the who, what and where of every product from source to renewal

For the penultimate session of the day, Hannah Bernard, Global Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at Avery Dennison, was joined by Simon Platts, CEO and Co-founder of Recomme, to discuss how technology can improve circularity in the fashion industry.

Using technology such as RFID means that garments and products can be individually identified, located, and followed to increase efficiency, offer better stock management, and create less waste. It also has the potential to improve the customer experience and build brand loyalty.

"By integrating RFID technology into the fabric or logos of garments or products, for example, brands can make information available to consumers and engage them via authentic storytelling," said Bernard.

"This technology is going to accelerate circular fashion practices. If not adopted by businesses on their own, it will be enforced by legislation," added Platts. "The use of RFID on garments or products will become the norm and redefine how consumers interact with brands."

Beth Wharfe, Burberry

Burberry: The UK’s luxury leader

Beth Wharfe, Director of Circular Business at Burberry, told the crowd of fashion insiders about how she took risks to try out circular initiatives to find what works for the luxury brand.

The company offers the five ‘Rs’- refresh, repair, rental, resale, remake. These all come under the ‘ReBurberry’ scheme. As for repairs, which was one of today’s hot topics, they’ve "become an expectation" within the luxury space and just happen to also add to the company’s circular business model. Wharfe also revealed exciting new initiatives, such as Burberry x Wardrobe HQ coming this June.

"My advice is to get something started. Test and learn, nothing’s a failure; it’s just a learning curve. Just be brave. We feel really excited to be a part of the change in the fashion industry," she said.

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