The fashion industry’s sustainability efforts thus far have been dominated by a focus on sustainable materials. While this is, of course, a very important driver for impact reduction, with a growing population that is consuming at hyperspeed, the apparel industry is finally realising that a shift toward using sustainable materials alone is not going to cut it.

It is important that the industry create truly sustainable business models in a world that is at ‘peak production’ and hitting up against planetary boundaries. In order to address this challenge in earnest, we need to not only produce better but also to produce less, and circular business models present an interesting opportunity to do more with less.