The value-added benefits gained through upcycling are quickly propelling it to a top position in the aspirational fashion market. As a result, it is gradually overshadowing its older counterpart, "recycling," which has become more of a mass consumer-driven sustainability activity. While efforts to secure a continuous supply of recycled materials (feedstock) progress along the sustainable innovation ladder, upcycling is thriving, driven by the creativity of emerging designers. These unique designs are challenging the luxury market and setting a new standard for sustainable design leadership.

While this article primarily focuses on closing the loop in the lifecycle of garments and its implications for fast versus slow fashion, it's essential to examine the regulatory frameworks within which fashion businesses operate. Designers are bound by legislation and regulations that create incentives and, at times, unintended consequences. These constructs may not always be at the forefront of daily fashion business operations, yet they profoundly influence industries and provide powerful tools that dictate the pace of change, meeting the needs of consumers to preserve, and potentially increase, their share of household spending.

As consumers grapple with information overload and take on the added responsibility of checking item quality post-payment online, they rely on brand performance, which builds trust and reputation. Consumers choose brands that align with their lifestyle choices. Maintaining trust is a long-term endeavor, and reputations can be shattered in an instant. Therefore, a granular approach to tracing the origins of a fashion item is one of several tools available to companies to ensure adherence to brand values. Encouragingly, leading brands in the mass market are adopting comprehensive approaches to sustainability, reaping the benefits that come with such responses.

Why is recycling or upcycling important?

Recycling and upcycling play significant roles in the sustainability criteria of economic, environmental, and social dimensions. They support a closed-loop model that embodies the idea of "for all forever" in a world with finite resources. In the fashion sector, recycling contributes to waste reduction through material and finished garment reuse, environmental conservation by decreasing landfill and pollution through repurposing waste, and preservation of natural resources, including water and virgin fibers, by enabling the repeated use of the same materials. As the market shifts from staple fibers toward continuous filaments, the potential for innovation in recycling technologies is substantial, offering economic stimulus and employment opportunities in addition to environmental benefits.

Securingcontinuous supply would also have a flow on effect to upcycling which oftencommences at the beginning of the material development process. Upcyclingtherefore has an inherent stake in other sustainable activities such as designfor reuse, reduction of carbon and water footprints, reduction of air pollution(greenhouse gases), use of renewable energy, ethical treatment of labour, adoptionof product safety standards, safe use of dye stuffs & chemical treatments;use of biodegradable packaging and elimination of animal cruelty in theprocessing of fibre, leather and furs.

Thereis one other global incentive driving the recycling/upcycling trend.According to the United Nations report released in June 2013, WorldPopulation Prospects: the 2012 Revision, the current world population of7.2 billion is projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. With the rise inaffluence of the emerging countries, fear mounts about the strain on finiteresources particularly natural resources. The questions being asked are"Where will the fibres, materials and items be derived to meet the demand andhow much will be needed?" The fashion sector simply must find a way todeal with the issues it is facing, a scarcity of supply of raw materials and anabundance of waste product. It must 'learn to churn'. To do this it mustfirstly also identify and measure the extent of the problem by quantifying andreporting on worldwide trade using units and weight.

Differencebetween recycling and upcycling

Recycling is findinganother use for an existing garment or in the case of textiles it sometimesalso means converting (waste) into reusable materials. Garment recyclinggenerally involves finding another use or user by re-entering a new phase forits life beginning at retail. The loop to recycle therefore closes towardsthe end of the supply chain and frequently re-enters the market throughcharities and collection points. The process of recycling textiles can alsoinclude the break down or grinding of high-grade materials into their purestraw forms or substrates. Recycling technology is seen as important incombating scarcity of raw materials and offers companies additional ways ofmanaging their supply of raw materials.

Upcycling however includesthe performance of value added activity on the material or disassembled garmentin such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than theoriginal. In upcycling the new life cycle commences with a design and mayrequire a complete manufacturing cycle as with a new product. The time framefor upcycling can be lengthy to allow for sourcing, disassembly andreconstitution.

Fast fashion vs. slow fashion

Fast fashion is derived from the principals of quick response and refers to theway in which designs move quickly from catwalk to store in order to capturecurrent fashion trends. There are sustainability benefits to quick responseprincipals in that they more accurately meet the needs of the market and reducethe risk of mark downs. However on the down side fast fashion has alsoacquired a reputation for excess and feeding an insatiable consumer demand.

Slowfashion on the other hand is a program of designing, creating and consuminggarments for quality and longevity. Slow fashion has gained a reputation forinspiring lengthier production schedules, ethical treatment of labour and fairpayment, lower carbon footprints and zero waste.

Challengesin designing with post-consumer clothes

Reuseof post-consumer clothes heralds the most attention and in many ways has cometo represent one of the first steps on the journey to sustainability.Designing with recycled garments is also something in which consumers canactively participate through donation. Each of the fashion market segments ofhaute couture, ready to wear (pret-a-porter), mass market including premium,mid-market, fast fashion and discount market experience design challenges inrecycling and upcycling.

Atthe high end the issues are in translating designs to scale and at the low endthey are in securing a consistent supply of materials to replicate for a massmarket. Sorting in terms of style, size, color, and fabric, requiresindividual creative responses to unique challenges. The requirement ofinnovative material responses lends itself to creative solutions, so it is nosurprise that the area of upcycling used garments is dominated by small tomedium enterprises.

Whilefashion tends not to want to bother with the arduous complexities oflegislation, it does operates in an artificial construct of legislation,regulation, tax incentives, tariffs, concessions, awards, standards, provisionof services, compliance and audits introduced by all levels of Government.There are many policy changes Governments can make (NGOs and advocacy groupscan undertake in persuading them) to create incentives for behavioural changewithin the sector.

Examplesof legislative levers that are or could be used to promote sustainability(recycling /upcycling) include waste redirection through landfill taxes; taxdeductions for donations to charities to collect waste; Harmonized System codeswhich facilitates trade uniformity and could make further provision forupcycled items; stronger anti-dumping legislation to avoid trans-shipment andabandonment of responsibilities; product stewardship incentives to encouragereturn of goods to their origin where recycled product information is held;global apparel size standards to reduce returns of online purchases; regulationto support third party verification and standards as a solution to the problemof non-standardised materials; and finally programs to encourage R&D inupcycled materials etc. and high tech labelling to assist in sorting materials.

Furthermorequantitative methods can also be used to measure impact and improve quality ofprocess and end product including packaging/transportation of goods e.g.benchmarks, indices, metrics, testing, auditing, reporting and accounting,bearing in mind however that recycling / upcycling adds a further layer ofcomplexity in what is fast becoming a crowded marketplace of textileaccreditations and certifications.

Marketfor recycled fashion garments

Themarket for recycled garments is difficult to assess. It is being driven by ageneration that has been educated about the consequences of excess and isconscious of the finite resources of the planet. The concept of recycling isnot new. In the 19^th century "Rag and Bone" men scavengedfor household waste and on sold to merchants. Since then "fabricjobbers" have sold mill ends and charitable organisations have fosteredthe growth of vintage and second hand clothing markets.

Accordingto the Textile Exchange Fast Facts, US over seventy percent of the world'spopulation use second hand clothing and the supply of women's clothes is seventimes greater than men. Nearly five percent of the municipal waste stream indeveloped countries is textile scrap and the recovery rate comes in atapproximately fifteen percent when the maximum recovery could be as high as ninetyfive percent.

Whatis certain is that when a garment can be made and delivered to store in undertwo weeks and last for as long as ten years, the pile of product at the end ofthe apparel supply chain will continue to escalate. As a recycled itemreenters the market particularly at retail, it reestablishes a cheaper valuefor clothes in the minds of the consumer. This puts enormous downward price pressure on the front end of the supply chain and willdrive new sustainable models for an apparel business.

Jo Kellock is theDirector at Kellaborate.