Leading CIFIN are three companies: The BFC, UK Fashion and Textiles (UKFT), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Together, they have appointed 16 industry kingpins to their advisory board, who hold senior roles at brands including M&S, New Look and Chanel.
CIFIN knows that if sustainable fashion means paying more to consume less, most shoppers and retailers will not change their spending habits. So, its solution is to design an economy where everything is either recycled or reused, allowing for the same fast pace of consumerism, just with less waste. Much of their time has been spent trying to get brands to scale circular business models (or CBMs). But the majority of CBM’s are relatively small initiatives within larger brands, like H&M’s new rental scheme or Zara’s pre-owned repair service. Brands are slow to adopt CIFIN’s recommended circular structure, with 50% of their survey respondents citing profitability as a deterrent.
In 2023, Shein’s British revenues rose 38% from a year earlier, earning them £1.55 billion in UK sales. Globally, they have an 18% share of the fast fashion market.
It’s a Sisyphean struggle; while CIFIN is asking high-street brands to opt for environmentally mindful methods of production, online retailers like Shein and Temu are usurping the fast fashion throne with cheaper and cheaper prices. In 2023, Shein’s British revenues rose 38% from a year earlier, earning them £1.55 billion in UK sales. Globally, they have an 18% share of the fast fashion market. To survive the changing landscape, fast fashion brands need to go faster.
To help companies move towards sustainability, Nigel Lugg, the director of Shotley Consulting and CIFIN’s representative for manufacturing, plans to bring production to the UK. Speaking on a panel at the CIFIN anniversary event, Lugg explained that international shipping is now taking significantly longer than it used to. This may be because Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships in the red sea have pushed vessels to take longer routes. By bringing manufacturing on-shore, brands would be able to maintain their usual operations with shorter lead times and reduced price points – something retailers can’t say no to.
“We’re a long way behind if you look at the global market in terms of sustainability,” – Nigel Lugg
The most ambitious of their plans is to create a giant sustainable apparel manufacturing park filled with A.I. machines. The machines will run 24/7 and can be quickly configured to work on different jobs every day. “We’re a long way behind if you look at the global market in terms of sustainability,” Lugg said, “while we’re talking about it, Asia is doing it!” Some of CIFIN’s initial £15 million was spent on an A.I. pilot project to develop automated machines like the ones used in Asia. In their interim report, they posited that “robots can be utilised to enhance worker productivity and increase job security” – see page 29 – but if the workforce is going to become increasingly robotic, it’s fair for some to question this notion of “increased job security”.
When a member of the audience at the event questioned whether this might result in employment issues, they were told that any jobs which disappear will be replaced with better opportunities. Right now, those manufacturing jobs are predominantly based in Bangladesh and China, where employees are paid little to nothing in exchange for long work hours. So Lugg’s plans to cut these poorly paid, labour intensive jobs may have little impact on UK employment.
Timothee Duret, the director of sustainable technology at a recycling management company called Veolia, told the audience about his aspiration to create a fashion recycling mecca. Duret is responsible for CIFIN’s textile waste plans and wants to develop a closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling park. This barely exists currently. The open-loop recycling process brings outputs from one industry to another, for instance, making used plastic bottles into yarn for clothes. Instead Duret envisages old clothes being recycled straight into new ones. In his recycling fantasy, fast fashion would be diverted from landfill altogether and stay within a circular system.
So, the hunt to find funding for this recycling odyssey is on. Speaking on a panel at the same event, Adam Mansell, member of the advisory board and CEO of UKFT, explained that the ultimate goal is for the UK government to adopt CIFIN’s propositions. They’re thinking of new legislation, taxes, and trade policies. However, CIFIN hasn’t decided exactly what it needs yet and is planning to whittle down their government wishes in time for a full report in May. Meanwhile Duret told audience members that he was anxious to get started if he is to meet his five-year targets. Building the recycling plants will take three to four years, but nothing can happen without investment and retail support. The problem is, while CIFIN are hoping for government assistance, Labour is facing Britain’s £22bn budget ‘black hole’. The government may not be in a position to be generous.
“People really care, they want to make the right choices. They want to buy the right things.” – Anna Jewitt
As an alternative source of funding, a member of the audience suggested taxing fast fashion products by £1 per garment, which could be put towards developing a circular textile economy. France has already taken steps towards making this a reality, with a fast fashion ‘kill bill’ that saw unanimous approval from their lower house of parliament. The measure would ban the advertising of certain ultra fast fashion companies and penalise brands through charges of up to €10 per item. Such ideals seem to be of low priority for the UK government though, with Keir Starmer’s Labour manifesto including no direct proposals for fashion-specific incentives.
Meanwhile, as CIFIN is hunting for investment, the online second-hand market is alive and kicking amongst young people. Last year Depop reportedly generated $600 million in gross merchandise sales, with about 90% of users under the age of 26. Having been priced out of the sustainable fashion market, young people have embraced resell apps instead. A 2022 study by the University of Manchester revealed that, for consumers aged 18-24, buying second-hand is like ‘permission to shop.’ With their recycling and manufacturing wonderland, CIFIN is hoping to bring this guilt-free shopping experience to the first-hand market. “People really care,” affirmed panel member Anna Jewitt, the legal director of The Competition Markets Authority. “They want to make the right choices. They want to buy the right things.”
