Unpacking The Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is renowned for its heavy use of packaging, contributing to an estimated 150 billion garments produced annually. If each garment has its unique packaging, the numbers themselves reveal the staggering impact. Consequently, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) ranks clothing, textiles, and footwear as the fourth highest impacting industry on our environment. 

Throughout its supply chain, the fashion industry heavily relies on plastic and paper. Pre-consumer packaging primarily includes textiles wrapping and trimmings for safe transportation to factories. Finished garments are individually packed in plastic polybags and co-packed in corrugated boxes for overseas shipping. Protective packaging at this stage is crucial to prevent product damage that could result in canceled orders and revenue loss.

Plastics pose a significant challenge for the industry, utilized not only in bags but also in tags and hangers. Though convenient and offering protection against dust and moisture, the heavy use of plastics generates adverse environmental effects like microplastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and fossil fuel consumption. However, innovative solutions could mitigate these issues and reduce dependency on plastics.

Signatories of The Fashion Pact, including Kering, Adidas, and Chanel, have pledged to eliminate unnecessary and harmful plastic in B2C packaging by 2025 and B2B packaging by 2030. They also aim to ensure that at least 50% of all plastic packaging comprises 100% recycled content by 2025 (B2C) and 2030 (B2B).

In response to a growing eco-conscious consumer base, apparel companies worldwide are striving for resource efficiency and environmental impact reduction. Studies, like the global one by BillerudKorsnäs, highlight consumers' inclination (72%) to pay more for sustainably packaged products, encouraging companies to delve deeper into sustainable packaging solutions, reducing plastic dependency.

Companies such as H&M have set ambitious sustainability goals, targeting the elimination of polystyrene plastics by 2023 and transitioning from plastic to paper bags in stores, with an additional fee incentivizing reusable bags. Efforts also focus on reducing mixed materials in packaging composition.

In recent years there has also been an increase in the use of compostable mailing bags, which can replace conventional plastic mailer bags. These compostable bags can break down in a compost, but first the non-compostable stickers must be removed. Also, there needs to be a proper composting system in place for this solution as the bags are often only industrially compostable, meaning they will not decompose as fast or at all in the natural environment. Otherwise, this can lead to greenwashing, which is the ‘process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company's products are more environmentally sound. This is an important responsibility of brands, to educate their buyers on the facts.

Another alternative solution is The Circular Polybag pilot, a partnership that sustainable fashion platform Fashion For Good has begun with Adidas, Kering, Otto Group, and PVH Corp. The mission is to reduce the use and impact of polybags in the fashion industry by manufacturing recycled polybags.

The fashion industry is making slow progress towards becoming fully sustainable, but there is still a long way to go. At Circulate, we aim to accelerate this transition by providing sustainable packaging solutions to meet a variety of needs.