Hello, readers. Trust y’all had a great Monday.
Welcome to #CircularTuesday on CleanbuildVoices!
For this edition of Circular Tuesday, we’ll be taking a brief look at how Africa’s fashion industry can embrace a circular economy.
More than just a trend, circularity is becoming a way of life and economic booster. It is a way to use what you already have (waste) to produce something useful. And for our people in fashion (designers and tailors), here are some of the new business models that are positioning Africa at the forefront of the emerging circular fashion industry:
- Cloth repair and upgrading services of garments;
- Leasing services;
- Resale section for pre-owned brand garments within stores;
- Peer-to-peer exchange.
African fashion is hot and more so, it’s one of the most innovative, exciting, bold, and revolutionary design scenes around the world. From trendy classic designs to street hip-hop style, our African ladies sure know how to rock their styles!
Moving on to other serious stuff about Africa’s fashion industry and the circular economy. The World Economic Forum tells us that the African textile industry has an opportunity to pursue a three-pronged strategy focused on circularity.
- Develop recycling industries that convert fashion and textiles waste into garments for commercial export markets
- Spearhead the transformation of conventional textile industries to green industries that use safe and renewable inputs for textile manufacturing
- Recycle textile cotton waste and cloths into yarns that can be upscaled into cloth to reduce the use of virgin resources.
Although beset with a few challenges especially around getting virgin sources for garment-making, however, the industry can employ emerging technologies to recycle textile waste into yarns.
Perhaps, you’re a player in the fashion industry wondering how a circular economy approach benefits you. Consider the following:
It reduces cost: Using emerging technologies to recycle textile waste into yarns can reduce reliance on virgin sources for garment-making.
It creates employment: Applying a circular economy approach in the existing fashion/textile industry could create new initiatives that recycle and upscale materials, creating additional jobs in the process.
It helps the climate: Organic and regenerative cotton-growing could reduce global warming.
Watch this space, as we’ll be back for our Tuesday’s special next week.
