3Keel helps to shape the future of the British fashion industry
22nd September 2021
Last night the British Fashion Council’s ‘Institute of Positive Fashion’, launched its Circular Fashion Ecosystem (CFE) report, at a roundtable discussion as part of London Fashion Week presented by Clearpay. Circular Economy Practice Lead, Alex Hetherington presented the report, which outlines the findings from Phase 1 of the project, to the roundtable participants and an audience of industry experts, followed by a panel discussion of the findings.
The report, produced by 3Keel in partnership with QSA Partners LLP, Flourish CSR Limited, Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow, and Icaro Consulting, presents a blueprint for the future of fashion. It is published at a time when the fashion and textiles industry is increasingly recognising its adverse environmental and social impact. The sector is cited as the joint third highest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) globally and we are at a point in time where the urgency to mitigate climate change has never been more important. The industry is facing unprecedented challenges to serve citizens’ needs whilst reducing its environmental impact.
In response to these challenges, the British Fashion Council has established the Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF). The IPF aims to create a new blueprint for the industry, calling for collective action, investment in innovation, and incentives to achieve the goal of increased resilience and circularity.
The report outlines the findings of Phase 1 of the Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project (CFE), the inaugural project of the IPF. It lays out the action needed to enable the transition of the UK fashion industry to a circular economy model and reflects the diverse ecosystem of stakeholders that will be involved. The report offers rich insights, which were gained from consultations and research into the perspectives of academia, brands, collectors, consumers, designers, institutions, industry bodies and third sector, logistics providers, manufacturers, reprocessors, and retailers. It also offers a set of recommendations for these actors, as well as government, digital innovators, and investors, to lay the groundwork for and to begin this transition.
These recommendations contribute to wider knowledge on the interconnected nature of circular fashion, by proposing meaningful and applied steps to transformation as part of a call for collective action. They are also featured in an interactive diagram, developed by the 3Keel team, that can be found here.
We are proud to have led on the production of this report and look forward to engaging further with the fashion and textiles sector to deliver this much-needed change.
“Driven by industry, recognizing the role of government and the consumer, we challenged ourselves to imagine the future circular fashion ecosystem in the U.K. By providing an actions-oriented blueprint for the future of fashion, we looked to accelerate the transition toward a circular fashion economy that thrives in its own right and to which other nations can look for inspiration and guidance”
Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council