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Circular Fashion: Creating a Sustainable Clothing Economy
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This review paper looks at how our clothing habits—especially cheap, disposable "fast fashion"—contribute to pollution, climate change, and microplastic contamination that can end up in our water and even our bodies. The researchers found that "circular fashion" (clothes designed to be repaired, resold, or recycled instead of thrown away) could significantly cut this waste and pollution, but new recycling technologies are still expensive and not yet widely available. The takeaway: buying fewer, longer-lasting clothes and supporting repair/resale options isn't just good for the planet—it may also reduce the microplastic pollution linked to pot
The global fashion industry has become emblematic of the environmental and social crises of consumerism. Fast fashion, characterized by short product lifespans, low prices, and rapid turnover, drives unsustainable resource extraction, carbon emissions, and waste accumulation. In 2023, global fiber production reached an unprecedented 124 million tonnes, while textile waste was estimated at over 92 million tonnes annually (Textile Exchange, 2024; UNEP, 2025). The environmental impacts are severe, accounting for 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 20% of wastewater, and significant microplastic pollution. Circular fashion, grounded in circular economy principles, offers an alternative paradigm that emphasizes longevity, repairability, recyclability, and closed-loop material systems. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of circular fashion as a pathway to building a sustainable clothing economy. It synthesizes academic literature, industry reports, and policy frameworks published between 2019 and 2025, integrating statistical data with case-based evidence. Technical advances in mechanical, chemical, and enzymatic recycling are explored, with emphasis on Carbios’ enzymatic depolymerization of PET, solvent-based separation of blends, and AI-driven automated sorting. The analysis also evaluates new business models including product-service systems (rental, resale, repair), extended producer responsibility (EPR), and digital product passports for traceability. Findings indicate that while circular fashion has significant environmental potential, systemic barriers remain: blended fibers, economic costs of advanced recycling, inconsistent collection systems, and consumer rebound effects. A techno-economic roadmap is presented, highlighting short-, medium-, and long-term interventions. Ultimately, achieving circular fashion at scale requires collaboration among designers, manufacturers, policymakers, and consumers, supported by regulatory mandates and investments in technology. The article concludes that circular fashion is both a moral and economic imperative, capable of redefining the future of global apparel systems.
More Papers Like This
04 | Fast fashion and environmental pollution: implications for One Health
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This review of 27 studies finds that our cheap, fast-fashion clothing habit is polluting the planet in ways that could come back to affect us: washing synthetic fabrics sheds tiny plastic fibers that break down into microplastics, which can soak up toxic chemicals like dyes and heavy metals and eventually make their way into our food and water. While more research is needed to fully understand the health risks, the researchers argue that smarter recycling, stricter regulations, and buying fewer, longer-lasting clothes could help reduce this growing environmental and health concern.
Waste, Consumption, and Garbage
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This review paper explains how our love of convenient, disposable products—like fast fashion and single-use plastics—creates mountains of waste that pollute oceans, release tiny microplastic particles now found in our water and even inside our bodies, and harm ecosystems. It also highlights that this pollution isn't spread evenly, often burdening lower-income communities the most. The takeaway: reducing what we buy and throw away, along with recycling and composting, isn't just good for the planet—it may help limit our own exposure to harmful pollutants too.
Fashion and the Environment
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This review paper highlights how the fashion industry's reliance on synthetic, fossil-fuel-based fabrics contributes heavily to water pollution and microplastic waste, tiny plastic particles that can end up in our water, food, and even our bodies. The good news: emerging alternatives like algae-based fabrics could offer a biodegradable option that cuts down on pollution while giving new life to materials that would otherwise clog waterways. For consumers, this means the clothes we choose could soon come with real environmental and health tradeoffs worth paying attention to.
The Impact of Fast Fashion on Marine Plastic Pollution
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This paper reviews the fast fashion industry's contribution to waterway pollution, explaining that cheap synthetic clothing sheds microplastic fibers during production and washing, and that the industry's rapid growth — especially in Asia — is making this a significant global pollution source. The authors propose manufacturing regulations and consumer behavior change as solutions to reduce the volume of synthetic microfibers entering waterways.
Fashion to Dysfunction: The Role of Plastic Pollution in Interconnected Systems of the Environment and Human Health
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This review traces how the fast fashion industry contributes to microplastic pollution through the production, laundering, and disposal of synthetic textiles. Researchers found that microplastic fibers released from clothing bypass wastewater treatment and accumulate in human organs including the liver, lungs, and brain. The study highlights urgent gaps in understanding airborne textile microplastic emissions and calls for changes in textile design to reduce fiber release.
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