Book Club : "Circular Fashion: Making The Fashion Industry Sustainable" by Peggy Blum - CREATE
Our first meet up: Sunday 16th June 2024,2:30-3:30 Goldbergs, Newcastle. Its FREE, all we ask is that you patron the cafe. Numbers are limited so if you are interested please contact us.
Bring something to mend. Our meet ups are also a form of normalizing circular fashion practices as well as being inspired and learning from each other.
At our meet up we will:
1. Each introduce ourselves and share why they are interested in the topic of circular fashion.
2. Overview of Part One: Create
I will provide a brief summary of Part One: Create (pp. 1-68) and highlight key concepts such as the principles of circular fashion, the design process, and the role of creativity in sustainable fashion.
3. Key Concepts and Questions - It will be lead in a "think tank" kind of format (40 minutes,)
Introduction to the Author: Peggy Blum:
Peggy Blum is a renowned advocate for sustainable fashion, with extensive experience in the industry as a designer, educator, and consultant. With a background in fashion design and a deep passion for environmental stewardship, Blum has dedicated her career to promoting sustainable practices within the fashion industry. She has taught at several institutions, sharing her expertise in sustainable design, and has worked with numerous brands to help them adopt more eco-friendly and circular practices.
Introduction to the Book: Circular Fashion: Making The Fashion Industry Sustainable:
The book is structured to provide a deep understanding of how the fashion industry can transition from a linear model of production and consumption to a circular one, where materials are reused, recycled, and kept in circulation for as long as possible.
What we are discussing this week:
Introduction : The revolution of the fashion industry & Part One: Create. We will delve into the foundational aspects of circular fashion, focusing on the design process and the choices that can lead to more sustainable outcomes. Blum introduces readers to the circular economy, emphasizing the importance of designing products that are durable, repairable, and recyclable. She explores various sustainable materials and innovative technologies that can reduce the environmental impact of fashion.
It will be a discussion or rather "think tank" questions (so its ok if you have not read the book ):
Introduction on where fashion is at:
1. Why do all companies design with planned obsolesce (pg 12-13)?
"A study investigating the consumption habits of young consumers found that fast fashion items typically had no more than wears. It is clear that the main stream or mass market fashion industry is intentionally creating clothing of inferior quality"
2. Brands introduce cycles or shapes, colors and styles to make people feel their clothing is unfashionable. Do you know of anyone who feels this pressure?
3. How has social media has accelerated this insatiable appetite?
"Fashion Nova, a digital fast fashion brand works with 1000 manufacturers to introduce between 600 and 900 styles every week. this brand has more than 17 million Instagram followers"
want to see how bad the problem is watch this - Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion | Official Trailer | HBO
4. Discuss : There is no denying we are in a "take- make- dispose linear supply chain.
"Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled" pg 14
5. So what?
Two types of waste -
Manufacturing waste - " According to Reverse Resources 25% of resources spill out of the original supply chain for a variety of reasons. Even though some of the materials get used else where, most get down cycled, incinerated or dumped"
Consumer waste - every second the equivalent of one garbage truck of textile waste is landfilled or burnt.
7. What about jobs?
"60 million people are employed in fashion". Most are exploited.
6. We need a new system! - how can we challenge ourselves to think more deeply about the products we create, the waste we generate, and our own clothing consumption habits?
Part 1: Create:
01. A circular mindset:
1. What are the main principles of the circular economy as presented in the book?
*Nature as the inspiration = Biomimicry approach to innovation (pg. 19).
*Following natures lead in being regenerative and restorative.
2. How does the circular economy differ from the traditional linear economy in fashion? (think back to the history of fashion pg. 7-10)
3. How do you think the fashion industry can transition from a linear to a circular model? (We are going to brain storm this answer together : )
4. Can you think of any current brands or designers that are successfully implementing circular economy principles?
Take a look at this article by Forbes who have these listed as the 7 most sustainable and circular brands
5. What are some strategies for designing clothes that are sustainable and circular? (pp. 23-27)
*Cradle to cradle
*Performance economy the "closed loop" approach
*industrial ecology
*Natural capitalism
6. We need to change the mindset - who are the circular leaders to do this?
*Dame Ellen Macarthur
* Clare Press
Check out this article on The most influential sustainable fashion experts in the world by WFX . These people are all so inspiring :).
*You and I - How can we do this ?
Next meet up we will be looking at design thinking and rethinking how its done.
I will be blogging and sharing on social media the answers to our meet up discussions, so that anyone who can't make it, can still join in the discussion :D
Looking forward to our meetup.
Lots of love,
Yvie xo