A new study highlights the urgent need for sustainable and circular practices in the fashion industry, offering actionable strategies for brands to minimise waste, extend product lifecycles and better align production with consumer demand.

The study, ‘Towards circular fashion: management strategies promoting circular behaviour along the value chain’, explores the fashion industry’s need to transition towards sustainable and circular practices by examining how management strategies influence behaviours across the fashion value chain.

Conducted at Cranfield University, UK and published in the Sustainable Production and Consumption journal, the research identifies eight core themes critical to promoting circular fashion: collaborations, marketing strategies, product-related characteristics, education and awareness, business models, technological integration, regulations and legislation, and strategic planning.

The study recommends that stakeholders drive sustainability and circularity in the fashion industry by fostering strategic partnerships with suppliers, waste management companies, and consumers to minimise waste and promote circularity across the value chain.

The authors emphasise the importance of using sustainable materials and eco-friendly designs to cater to environmentally conscious consumers while advocating for visual storytelling to ensure transparency.

Furthermore, the study calls for the adoption of circular business models, such as “on-demand” and “made-to-measure” production, which align manufacturing with consumer demand to reduce overproduction.

It also advises brands and retailers to implement end-of-life strategies, including take-back programs, recycling initiatives, and repair services, to extend product lifecycles and create sustainable value.

To enhance supply chain transparency and accountability, the study suggests integrating advanced technologies such as digital IDs.

All these actionable recommendations are aimed at providing a practical application of sustainable and circular practices across the fashion value chain, offering industry practitioners, researchers and policymakers effective strategies for driving impactful change within the fashion industry.

Is circularity losing ground in the fashion industry?

Despite apparel filings data from GlobalData indicating a decline in references to circularity—from a peak of 975 mentions in 2022 to 472 in 2024—circularity remains a key focus in the fashion industry. Retailers and brands continue to advance their net-zero and sustainability efforts.