Circular fashion is gaining traction among consumers, as the antidote to the standard linear model with its large water, energy and land footprint.
The average European consumer buys 40 % more clothes than just a few decades ago. The rise of fast fashion plays a big role. Fast fashion copies styles from high-end fashion shows and floods the markets, with cheap, low-quality products.
Today European apparel companies release a much higher number of collections compared to 2000. Brands such as Zara and H&M offer between 12 and 24 collections per year.
As a result, consumers see cheap clothes as disposable goods and throw them away after wearing them only a few times.
What’s worse, only 50% of used clothes are recycled and only 1 % make it into new clothes. The vast majority ends up in landfills.
In addition, the use of virgin materials in clothes production takes a toll on the environment as well. The production of raw materials, their transformation and the dyeing process require huge amounts of water and chemicals.
Furthermore, washing, tumble drying and ironing require more water, energy and chemicals.
Finally, packaging often includes plastics, whose harmful effects on the environment need no introduction.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A growing number of companies are adopting a different model. Fortunale, an Italian company producing wool pullovers and accessories, provides an excellent example.
Fortunale’s products use 100% organic and cruelty-free wool, produced exclusively in Italy. Anilmal well-being is paramount and sheeps are free to graze and do not need anti-parasite treatments.
In addition, the dyeing process employs exclusively flower, fruit and plant extracts, without chemical products. This makes the fibres more recyclable and more skin friendly.
Finally, Fortunale products’ lifecycle is longer than a traditional pullover, thanks to their take-back scheme. The company recycles old pullovers up to 80% and gives customers a 30% discount on the purchase of a new one.
Everything we put on the market needs to have a second life.
All our goods are sold in a recycled cardboard box. Even the label becomes a earplug holder.
Finally, since some environmental impacts are unavoidable, Fortunale offsets all sale of their pulls by planting a tree. Each tree has a number which is manually embroided on the purchased good. To date, Fortunale has planted 600 pomegranate trees on a plot of land confiscated to organised crime in the Puglia region in Italy.
Fortunale is currently promoting a “Green Friday” initiative. Until Christmas they will collect any wool pullover and provide customers a 50 euro discount for the purchase of a new Fortunale pullover.
This year so many small companies have suffered from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are still looking for Christmas presents don’t miss out on the opportunity to support circular fashion and initiatives like Fortunale’s!