Leading brands and retailers report their progress inachieving circularity targets

•    NewStatus Report reveals fashion brands have met 21 per cent of their ambitiouscircularity targets they committed to achieve by 2020.

•    Industrystakeholders convene in Brussels to discuss report and how to establish a circularfashion system.

Global Fashion Agenda, a leadership forum for sustainability in fashion recently released the YearTwo Status Report, an annual assessment of the progress that brands andretailers have made in reaching the targets of the 2020 Circular Fashion SystemCommitment (2020 Commitment).

The Year Two Status Report shows that signatories havereached 45 (21%) of the 213 targets set, highlighting the ambitious nature ofmany of the targets. Although significant progress has been made, some targetstake longer to implement. Brands must accelerate their efforts and seek furthercollaboration if they are to achieve their remaining targets by June 2020.

Roadblocks toProgress

As of July 2019, 79 per cent of the initial targets arestill outstanding. The Year Two Status Report indicates that the majority ofsignatories find addressing action point 4, "Increasing the share ofgarments and/or footwear made from recycledpost-consumer textile fibres", the most challenging.

The Year Two Status Report includes brand case studies byASOS, Eksempel, Filippa K, Guess, H&M, Loomstate, MUD Jeans and NudieJeans, as well as statements by representatives of Bestseller, Dhana Inc, Ganni,KappAhl, Mara Hoffman, Nike, Norrøna Sport, Suitsupply and VF Emea.

The Road Ahead

•    Despitethe encouraging progress, the fashion industry is still far from beingsustainable and circular. Governments and policymakers must play a strong rolein creating a supportive regulatory framework.

•    Recently,select fashion leaders, policymakers and organisations that are key actors inthe fashion system convened in Brussels for a roundtable event. Attendeesincluded representatives from fibre manufacturers, brands, recyclers, cities andmore.

•    GlobalFashion Agenda also collaborated with Sustainable Apparel Coalition and theFederation of the European Sporting Goods Industry to launch a Policy Hub forCircular Economy in the apparel and footwear industry. The Policy Hub willcreate an aligned proposition on policies for circularity with inputs from arange of stakeholders engaging in the topic.

•    Inthe third and final year of the 2020 Commitment, Global Fashion Agenda willcontinue to support signatories in reaching their targets, with a particularfocus on addressing key challenges.

Key Facts onCircularity

73 per cent of the world'sclothing eventually ends in landfills. (Global Fashion Agenda & BostonConsulting Group. Pulse of the Fashion Industry).

Every second, a garbage truck full of textiles is thrown out. If today's textile collection rate triples by 2030, it could be worth more than €4 billion.

If the industry were to find a way to collect and recycle all fibres, the value would equal up to €80 billion. Today less than 15 per cent of clothes are collected for recycling, and less than 1 per cent of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing.

The Four Targets

The list of targets set and reached.

Action point 1: Implementing design strategies for cyclability: 87 targets set, 24 reached. New/more ambitious targets set:6

Action point 2: Increasing the volume of used garments and/or footwear collected: 52 targets set, 12 reached.

Action point 3: Increasing the volume of used garments and/or footwear resold: 27 targets set, 4 reached.

Action point 4: Increasing share of garments and/ or footwear made from recycled post-consumer textile fibres: 47 targets set, 5 reached.

2020 Commitment

The 2020 Commitment, which stopped accepting new signatories in May 2018, was developed by Global Fashion Agenda to encourage fashion brands and retailers to take action on circularity. It is meant to be inclusive by calling on fashion brands and retailers of all sizes, market segments and starting points to participate. Furthermore, it encompasses companies that have not yet taken action on circularity as well as those who already have programmes in place