Cirkel Supply’s Post

Last week, I had a great week in Copenhagen with a combination of investment meetings as well as attending the Global Fashion Summit alongside of my fantastic colleagues Alexandra Poignand and Shruti Singh from Canopy’s Impact Team 🌍 Celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year’s summit reflected on how much work remains to be done to make fashion truly sustainable. As someone who drives solutions at scale, I'm conscious of the enormity of the task at hand but several highlights left me optimistic about that trajectory: 🔹 Rich discussions with Canopy’s brand, innovation and supply chain partners - all focused on concrete new actions we are jointly advancing to accelerate the scaling of Next Gen Solutions armed with the advantage of lessons learned through Renewcell's experiences (see link below for Canopy's Lessons Learned analysis). 🔹 Tangible support from key actors for our work focused on India becoming an early Next Gen production hub globally - with significant enthusiasm amongst brands and producers to accelerate low-carbon textile manufacturing there. 🔹 Fantastic to team tag with with industry leaders Christine Goulay, Edwin Keh, Sophie Mather, Nemanthie Kooragamage, and Ana Rodes in ‘The Preferred Fibre Face Off’ session which highlighted the extensive work that is well underway through the value chain to accelerate the scaling of low-carbon, circular alternatives. Fashion is a massive global production system and focus is often just on the brands but without the full value chain, this transition won't happen. It was great to unpack how players at all levels in the fashion supply chain are stepping up and out on sustainability in this session. 🔹 The #GlobalFashionSummit’s Innovation Forum showcased the exciting pipeline of game-changing and innovative technologies ready for industry-wide adoption. Loved getting my hands on Evrnu®, SPC's new 360 Hoodie made from 100% Next Gen fibre. 🔹 Contributing to a leadership roundtable on accelerating the transition to circular material production identified several areas for joint action and highlighted that we are now better equipped than ever to collectively drive Next Gen materials through to market. I already see bolder, coordinated action on the part of brands, innovators and manufacturers. Now we need to deepen that work and pair it with similarly ambitious actions with investors and policy makers to scale Next Gen solutions at the pace needed. Let's ensure that in another 15 years, we're having a very different conversation - one that is reflecting on how fashion set the pace for the world's transition to circular production and healthy natural systems. In fact, let's have that be the conversation we have in 5 years. Onward! https://lnkd.in/g2V7VwfZ #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #NextGen #Canopy #UnlockingTheNextLevel Global Fashion Agenda #CircularFashion #SustainableFashion #SupplyChains

Since I moved to the investor side a little more than a year ago, I've been keeping close hey on the fashion and retail space. As I spent many years in the space building Reflaunt, I know how present is the issue of making the fashion industry more sustainable. Here are a few numbers to give you the idea of why the problem is so critical. 🌳 Annually, the industry consumes 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources, including oil for synthetic fibres and fertilizers for cotton. 💧 It takes about 3,000 litres of water to produce one cotton shirt - enough to meet one person's drinking needs for 2.5 years. ♻ Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments. ☁ The fashion industry accounts for up to 8-10% of global CO2 emissions - as much as the European Union. 🚚 The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second globally. 👠 Buying one used item instead of new reduces its carbon footprint by 82%. In this short blog post, I would like to share an overview of innovations making a change in the space and asses if the fashion industry is becoming more sustainable. Check out: Reflaunt, HURR, PACT, Colorifix, Alchemie, EverDye, Smartex.ai, unspun™, Procotex Corporation SA, Recover, Kvadrat, Evrnu®, SPC, Ambercycle, EON, Fairly Made®, TrusTrace, and Compare Ethics. Feel free to reach out if you're interested in the topic. https://lnkd.in/e4bU_SqT

State of Fashion & Apparel Industry + Rate of Technology Adoption & Innovation Q1: Why is the textile, fashion and apparel industry at a critical juncture? Q2: How are brands, manufacturers and fashion retailers investing in technology, AI, innovative methods and processes with new thinking, new product lines, customer engagement —-> towards a healthier and more livable future? Q3: What impact will this industry have on people and planet by the end of 2030? Key questions to address by All Stakeholders : all citizens of the world as we all wear clothes, contribute to the state of fashion and have the power to transform this planet one step at a time through collaboration, co-creation and consciousness. Thank you Felix Winckler for sharing your perspective as both entrepreneur and investor.

Have you heard of the "Stocks On Demand" approach? Nona Source is shaking up the fashion world with its game-changing eco-circular business model. Co-founded by Romain Brabo, who previously worked as a buyer and quality manager at LVMH, Nona Source was born from his sharp observation of the fashion industry's inefficiencies. He noticed that while luxury fashion houses amassed unused materials at the end of each season, young designers struggled to access quality fabrics due to high minimum order quantities. By turning this waste into a goldmine for emerging designers, Nona Source brilliantly merges sustainability with profitability. Imagine premium fabrics once deemed waste now sparking new, edgy collections! This savvy approach slashes waste and supports the vibrant creative community. With instant access to high-end materials and no production delays, Nona Source is setting a bold new standard for the industry. Plus, India's trailblazing startup Fabrito is riding this wave, empowering smaller brands and designers to join the sustainable fashion revolution. Get ready for a fashion industry that's not just stylish but smart and sustainable! https://lnkd.in/g7SMAMqm

Why is there so much focus on #circularity as a #sustainability solution for fashion? I wondered that when I wrote the Stanford Social Innovation Review article “A Circle that Isn’t Easily Squared.” I wonder now, even more. According to a new report from Circle Economy called The Circularity Gap Report, with support from the Laudes Foundation. 👚”The global textile industry is 0.3% circular….with over 99% coming from virgin sources” 👗According to textile expert Lutz Walter, textile production is expected to grow to 145 mt by 2030 …with synthetics dominating 70% share and China dominating manmade fiber production …while continuing to build out capacity. This additional capacity will assure that synthetic pricing remains depressed…making virgin the preferred financial solution. 👖According to McKinsey & Company,  “the main driver of circular fashion and luxury in 2030 will be an up to tenfold increase in recycled, sustainably produced products, which will contain a high share of sustainable fibers.” Even if this were to manifest, circularity would climb to all of 3% of fashion. So…I wonder…why the continued focus on circularity as a central solution? Why the continued promotion by Global Fashion Agenda, the Textile Exchange, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and brands ranging from Gucci to H&M to Nike? Any thoughts? Rachel Arthur Maxine Bédat Dominique Chantale Alepin Leslie Johnston, M.Sc. Katrin Ley Rachel Cernansky Zofia Zwieglinska Matt Powell Sucharita Kodali Jason Berns John Atcheson Annie Agle John Andreliunas Neeraj Narayan Samantha Taylor Sarah Kent Heather Clancy Gil Friend John Elkington Donatela B. Julia Viner Michael Sadowski Serena Bonomi Marisa Adler Marisa Selfa Ron Gonen Marcie Bianco Auden Schendler

Is circularity a distraction masked as action? this post, & the excellent discussion in the comments asks this. We are in a textile waste structural deficit, volumes are growing faster than the tiny amount of recycling. Tackling volume is the no1 way we can reduce carbon, water, land use, microfibre footprints. we can’t pretend otherwise.

Oh my gosh I freaking LoVe this discussion! Why the discussion of Circular Economy Credit incentives towards fashion? It is my intent and marketplace focus to bring two main concepts together in fashion and consumerism on CO2Trust.earth Fashion action and public awareness. Fashion needs a climate action accounting structure to step into that translates measurable progress towards sustainability and support of conscious consumerism. Circular economy or a potential industry specific “Materials Offset through Recycling Credit” is necessary which deals directly with waste and forces reuse or Life Cycle Assessment of goods. This is the sweet spot of the right VCM focused on solutions and strategies that translates to the public sector. That enlightens and awakens the consumer. Count me in! #climatecrusades #co2trust #sweetskinshempclothing #MORC

If our only incentive is $$ the answer is obvious. If we want to be more than frogs in boiling water we need to make changes to our current systems. There's several comments about the Textile Hierarchy of reduce, reuse, recycle. Notice recycle is at the bottom of the Hierarchy. It's one of many potential tools. In addition to the Hierarchy of use there is other important work happening on process optimization, better chemistries, etc. Let's not think any 1 answer is the total solution.

Spotlight on Sustainable Fashion: Insights from ACG’s Middle Market Deal Maker. The environmental toll of the fashion industry is staggering—with every five garments produced, the equivalent of three end up in a landfill or are incinerated each year. But there’s a silver lining. Venture capitalists, private equity firms, and strategic investors are increasingly recognizing the potential in sustainable fashion. The market is fragmented and it offers opportunities to scale through innovative materials and recycling processes. This shift towards sustainability in the fashion industry may be a 2 for 1 deal: the potential for abnormal returns and a benefit to the planet.

📢 Exciting Changes in the Fashion Industry! 🌍✨ The fashion world is finally making strides towards reducing overproduction and embracing sustainability. Key players like H&M, Reformation , and Zalando , in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation , are pioneering efforts to shift from a linear to a #circular economy. This transformation aims to design out #waste, keep materials in use, and #regenerate natural systems. ### Highlights: 1. **H&M's Green Machine**: Developed with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA - The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited ), this innovative technology uses hydrothermal methods to recycle blended fabrics without toxic chemicals, aiming to process 1.5 tons of fabric daily : https://lnkd.in/eCUcTjhd https://lnkd.in/eZCh_2rY 2. **Jeans Redesign**: Through the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 's initiative, brands are creating durable, #recyclable jeans. H&M's new denim collection adheres to these guidelines, using #organic and #recycled materials, and safer chemicals, setting a new standard for #sustainability in fashion : https://lnkd.in/evn8AXfX https://lnkd.in/edbGhpWi 3. **Circular Economy Principles**: H&M 's collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation focuses on applying #circular economy principles across its supply chain, emphasizing product longevity, easy #recycling, and #sustainable materials : https://lnkd.in/eeZfevaA ### Join the Movement: The transition to a #circular economy is not just an option but a necessity to meet the Paris Agreement targets and reduce carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. Let's support and participate in this vital shift for a #sustainable future. #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #EcoFriendly #HM #Reformation #Zalando #EllenMacArthurFoundation #GreenMachine #JeansRedesign 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽