3Keel leads research consortium for the British Fashion Council’s inaugural Circular Fashion Ecosystem project

The Circular Fashion Ecosystem (CFE) is the inaugural project of the British Fashion Council’s Institute of Positive Fashion. Today, the BFC announces the Advisory Board for the project and hosts a panel discussion to raise awareness of the programme as part of the London Fashion Week February 2021. Participating in the panel is 3Keel’s Dr. Alex Hetherington, who is leading the consortium that will be supporting the initial stages of the CFE programme.

Launched in October 2020, the CFE is the inaugural project of the IPF and focuses on the creation of a circular fashion economy in the UK. With collaboration across the industry needed more than ever, the project will help determine what a new ecosystem looks like, the responsibilities of each stakeholder, and the practical next steps needed to arrive at the key programme objectives: 

• To accelerate industry-wide ability for textile recycling in the UK
• To make the UK a major fashion “revalue” centre within the global industry
• To influence consumer behaviour into adopting responsible consumption habits

This is a multi-year, multi stakeholder endeavour which will establish a roadmap for change to enable a circular UK fashion economy.

3Keel will be working with four partners to complete the foundational research for the CFE project. Together, the consortium combines 3Keel’s experience of stakeholder management, LCA and circularity for difficult-to-recycle materials, with expertise in circular business models and strategy, consumer trends, and behaviour change in the fashion and textiles sector. 

• QSA Partners: a specialist team of circular economy and sustainable business experts with more than 30 years’ experience working with the fashion sector on resource efficiency including significant experience in circular textiles.
• Flourish CSR: a team of industry-leading corporate social responsibility specialists with deep fashion sector knowledge and the network to match.
• Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow: one of the world’s top 100 universities and home to leading researchers in the fields of consumer research, marketing and sustainable clothing consumption.
• Icaro: a leading consumer insights agency with expertise in market research and behaviour change who apply the latest insights from behavioural economics to help their clients understand their audience and design change strategies and interventions.

The London Fashion Week panel discussion will take place at 4.30pm GMT on February 23rd 2021, and will be hosted by Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive. The project Advisory Board will discuss the project to enable a call to action to welcome collaborators, including NGOs, brands, big business, government agencies and innovators. To access the panel discussion, click here.