Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle or return to the earth – together these five sustainability principles are the keys to building a “circular” business.
Historically, fashion brands’ responsibility for their products ended once the clothing left the shop, resulting in ever-increasing mountains of textile waste. However this system is changing due to pressure from both regulators (particularly in the EU) and consumers.
More fashion brands now offer customers extended care, including free or cheap repair programs and take-back schemes to ensure clothing does not end up in landfill at the end of its life.
But this model of circularity requires a business to have an ongoing presence, something that can never be guaranteed in a notoriously difficult industry like fashion.
So when a brand that has promised to care for garments throughout their lifetime shuts down, what happens next? Courtney Holm is contemplating this question right now. For seven years, the designer of A.BCH made clothing with circularity principles in mind, offering free repairs, alongside a take-back scheme for recycling. The brand picked up several awards, including an Australian fashion laureate, for its sustainability credentials.
Then on 19 January, the Melbourne-based label announced the business would no longer make and sell new garments from March onwards.
Holm says the brand is undergoing a strategic transition and will continue to exist as a consultancy and educational tool. Here, Holm explains how she intends to remain responsible for A.BCH garments after the business stops making new clothes. Her plans may well form an exit template for other circular businesses that follow.