Areas of application for the fashion business to become circular

Within the company’s supply chain and areas of action, 3 main areas can generate opportunities to start being circular and sustainable: product, process and business model.

Product: it encompasses the different actors involved with the product itself, and for this, the entire supply chain is covered to analyze who is involved in the product.

Process: this area starts when our design has been defined and validated. From here we must involve the supply chain department that includes: production, manufacturing, logistics, operations and all suppliers that can add value, reducing costs, to produce more efficiently or to value the possible waste generated.

Business: when making a circular project, this is the most difficult area to tackle since it is where it is defined how business is generated, what is going to be sold, to whom and what is the sales channel to use.

Here you have some examples and tips to apply in your fashion business whiting these main areas.

PRODUCTS

Potential raw material cost savings. It encompasses purchases, product development, customers and recycling

-Promote and implement eco-design

• Extend product life
• Facilitate repair maintenance and recycle ability

-Encourage innovation

• Suggestion box, brain storming sessions, co-creation sessions
• New methodologies system innovation: design thinking Systems thinking
• corporate acceleration detection incubation acceleration and investment

PROCESSES

-Change policies with providers

• buy green
• minimize carbon and water footprint
• supply of materials
• transportation
• eco component design

-Innovation in the production process

• new methodologies: lean, minimize stocks, reuse parts, etc.
• Reduced carbon and water footprint
• energy efficiency
• renewable energies/self-consumption

• reduction / recovery of waste

BUSINESS MODELS

-At the business strategy level

• include circularity and sustainability (SDG) within the company’s strategy
• Know your sector: background where you are and where it is going… take time to think
• analyze flows (material and energy) and identify which ones offer more value
• assess the technical and economic feasibility of the measures identified
• implement the indicator measures and follow up
• anticipation

-Use recycled or recyclable products 100 per 100

• promote common platforms for users
• innovate by promoting services versus products
• prioritize services over products
• recurring versus immediate income