How to Design a Circular Fashion Brand

Although it may seem complex, if you’re looking to evolve into a circular brand, knowing the basics of circular design and how it plays out in a circular economy will set up your company for success.

Why Circular Design?

Rather than a standard design, a circular design?is one that does not contribute to global waste and keeps products and services in a continuous cycle of recycling, repurposing and use.

Standard design means:

• Products go from cradle-to-grave.
• The typical life cycle goes from creation, to use, to disposal.
• After the consumer has used the product or it breaks, that’s the end of its life.
• Biological elements — those that come from the earth, like wood and plants — are not replaced at the rate which they are used.
• Technical elements like plastic, glass, and metals — go to the landfill.

With a circular design:

• Products follow a cradle-to-cradle cycle.
• This means that items are created, used by the consumer, broken down and recycled or repurposed, and then the cycle starts again.
• Items never go to the landfill, and products and services are refurbished and constantly being re-designed to continue their life.
• Biological elements are put back into the earth and replenished.
• Technical elements are broken down, recycled, and reused.

How to Design a Circular Brand

Creating a circular brand begins with ideas. Brainstorm. What products or services are you creating that satisfy a consumer’s need? How can you create these products or services in a way that serves the planet at the same time, and don’t contribute to global waste or pollution? When creating a circular brand, you should be mindful of the steps of the circular design process:

• Resources:?Biological and technical elements are gathered for the product or service.
• Manufacturing: The product is made.
• Use: The consumer uses the product or service.
• Recycling: Products are broken down. They’re returned to the earth or recycled and repurposed for more use.

As you implement these steps in your circular brand, be mindful of the?principles?of the circular design process:

• Design products and make them without waste or pollution.
• Keep products and services in constant use and rehabilitation.
• Regrow the earth’s natural systems.

Launching Your Circular Brand into Action

Once you’ve created ideas for products and services and laid plans for your circular brand, it’s time to launch it into action. As you gather materials, look for other brands or manufacturers to partner with who are committed to a circular economy. For example, if you’re launching a circular fashion brand, search for farms and manufacturers that are fully transparent and track all steps of the design process — from sourcing organic cotton, to minimizing water use, to ensuring no harmful chemicals are released into the earth’s natural systems.

Appeal to consumers and build a relationship

When you manufacture and release your products, make sure you’re connecting with your consumers and building a relationship. What sets you apart from other brands? Why should they care about your product or service? Consider how long your customers are going to be using their products, and design them so they can be fully repurposed, reused, or return to the earth.

Continuous Design and Innovation

As your product and/or service continues through its life cycle, you should be constantly updating, innovating, and re-designing them.

Because the life cycle is continuous, your design process should be too. Find ways to update your products and services, and make them even more environmentally friendly.

Some questions to ask yourself include:

• How can this product or service better serve the consumer?
• In what ways can the design or materials be updated to be more environmentally friendly?
• Is there room for collaboration with other innovative companies to improve the life cycle or the consumer’s experience?
• How can we design so that this product or service — or the biological and technical elements — can still be used 10, 20, and 50 years from now?