07/14/22

Retail Trend: Winning With Circularity Initiatives

The Tier 3 initiatives that PSFK is tracking go beyond the obvious or the observable into a full-scale audit of how things across a business are run, balanced against how they could be done (better).

Federal climate legislation notwithstanding, brands and retailers are, at a core level, increasingly beginning to integrate key sustainable practices beyond just surface level green-washing and into their key operations and processes. By leaning on circular approaches to design and manufacturing, brands and retailers are discovering they can power real change and drive loyalty while responding to both contemporary shopper sentiment and market realities.

Turning fast-fashion waste into chicly sustainable sofas
DTC furniture brand Floyd is partnering with Recover, a company that recycles textiles into new fibers to create a sectional sofa made entirely and sustainably from up-cycled, post-consumer fast-fashion waste. Floyd

For Golden Goose, fashion’s future is handicraft and repair
The NY Times covers how luxury shoe brand Golden Goose is trying to chart a new future of responsible fashion by staffing its Milan flagship with a crew of young artisan cobblers (called “Dream Makers”) who perform bespoke repairs, customizations, and above all – keep sneakers out of landfills. NY Times

Glass-based innovations are making beauty packaging more sustainable
Recent innovations in producing and manufacturing glass, an eminently recyclable material, are creating new sustainable packaging options for beauty brands who want to provide their customers with better aesthetics, better-preserved formulas and more sustainable packaging across single-use, recyclable, and refillable products. Glossy

Circ is creating circular fashion’s next-gen reality
Helped by funding from Inditex, retailer Zara’s parent company, Circ (a favorite also of Patagonia and Fashion For Good) operates a proprietary textile recycling process that turns clothing made of polyester and cotton blends into raw materials to be reused, helping protect the planet from clothing waste and helping the fashion industry ease its global footprint. Circ

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