Circularity in fashion: The Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference

What will it take to build a truly circular fashion system – one that serves both people and planet? This question anchored a powerful conversation at the Innovation Forum Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference in New York City, where industry leaders gathered to discuss bold strategies, real-world progress, and what’s still needed to accelerate change.

Textiles, Apparel & Footwear

Circularity in fashion: The Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference

Key Takeaways

The Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference spotlighted the fashion industry's shift from small-scale circularity efforts to scalable, systemic change. Panelists emphasized that meaningful progress requires cross-industry collaboration, innovation, and supportive policy frameworks. Key insights included the growing adoption of textile-to-textile recycling, advancements in recycling technology that enable high-quality fibers, and increased engagement from supply chain partners. While the foundation for a circular fashion system is forming, the path forward demands collective action to make material circulation and regenerative practices the norm across the industry.

From pilots to scalable solutions

In a session titled “Brainstorming Beyond Circular-ish: Systemic Changes to Eliminate, Circulate, and Regenerate Through Fashion,” panelists examined how the fashion sector can move beyond incremental efforts and pilot programs to drive true systemic change.

Moderated by Monica Becker, Senior Director of Strategy and Development at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the conversation featured:

Danielle Holly, Executive Lead for North America, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Carmen Gama, Director of Circular Design, EILEEN FISHER, Inc.
Lewis E. Shuler II, Vice President of Advanced Concepts, Alpine Group

Together, the panelists outlined how far the industry has come – and what it will take to maintain and accelerate this momentum.

Key observations

Brands are evolving from intention to implementation: There is a visible shift as companies transition from isolated pilots to robust, scalable circularity strategies. Brands are setting clear goals and are crafting bold strategies.
Textile-to-textile recycling is gaining traction: The spotlight has shifted from merely reselling what can be resold to ambitiously scaling textile-to-textile recycling. However, scaling of textile-to-textile recycling, at the level needed by the industry, will require collaboration across brands.
Technical progress is accelerating: Innovations in mechanical recycling are enabling the production of high-quality recycled fibers that closely match virgin material – a major breakthrough for the industry. Cotton was presented as an example.
Vendor engagement is growing: Where there was once hesitation, vendors are now showing increased willingness to collaborate on circular solutions.

Unlocking systemic change

While technical and strategic progress is encouraging, the panelists emphasized that scaling circularity requires coordinated, system-wide shifts.

Industry-wide collaboration is critical to avoid duplicative efforts and to build shared infrastructure that supports closed-loop systems.
Policy and regulatory alignment will play a vital role in driving investment and incentivizing widespread adoption of circular business models.
Collective initiatives, such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Fashion ReModel, exemplify how collaboration across brands can support the transition from linear to circular systems by providing a framework for implementation at scale.

Looking ahead: The future is circular – and within reach

The insights shared at the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference reflect a significant inflection point for the fashion industry. With growing commitment from brands, increasing technical capability, and early signs of policy engagement, the foundations for a circular economy in fashion are steadily taking shape.

Yet the work is far from over. Scaling circularity will require continued alignment, innovation, and the collective will to embed regeneration and resilience at the core of how fashion is designed, produced, and recirculated. The pathway is clear: to transform the fashion sector so that materials are routinely circulated – not as the exception, but as standard practice.