These fashion brands hope to give their clothes a second life | Canada Voices

Textile waste is a growing problem in Canada and around the world.

A report by the non-profit Fashion Takes Action estimates that almost 500 kilotons of it end up in Canadian waste systems each year. Depending on the municipality, it can comprise up to six per cent of all garbage, according to Sabine Weber, a professor in the School of Fashion at Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic.

Those numbers are part of the reason why circularity has become a fashion industry buzzword in recent years, with labels at home and abroad seeking to divert garments from the landfill. In Canada, brands Anián, Hoi Bo and Canada Goose are among those offering resale programs that make it easier for consumers to shop and sell secondhand, while others such as &Or Collective and Tentree collect used clothing for reuse and recycling.

Recycling initiatives have been common among some brands, but “there’s definitely been an increase in repair and resale,” said Kate Hobson-Lloyd, sustainability manager at Good On You, an app that rates brands’ sustainability efforts. The latter can be an added revenue stream, but there’s a lot of costly work involved in helping garments find a second life.

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Circularity programs can be operationally complex, even for global companies such as Patagonia, which launched its industry-leading Worn Wear initiative in the U.S. a decade ago (it’s currently not available internationally). The initiative allows customers to repair, trade in and buy used Patagonia clothing and gear.

“There’s authentication, there’s inspection, there’s washing, there’s photographing,” said Roos van de Weerd, Worn Wear’s marketing manager. “It’s a very different business operation from our normal business.”

Still, the program continues to grow as the brand prioritizes extending the life of its products. In October, Patagonia will start selling used pieces alongside new items on its main website, instead of through its current dedicated Worn Wear platform. “You could see it as a digital product innovation, but we see it as a doubling down on a commitment to extending the life of our gear,” said van de Weerd.

Another major step some fashion companies are taking is building circularity directly into the design and product development process.

On Sept. 4, North Vancouver-based outdoor performance brand Arc’teryx is launching a new hardshell jacket that is in many ways a proof of concept of its circularity efforts. Four years in the making, the Sperro SV (“spero” is Latin for “I hope”) is the first product from the company’s System 0 circularity platform.

“We knew that it wasn’t just going to be about designing a jacket; anyone can do that,” said vice-president of advanced concepts Alex Plante at a media preview in July. “It was really going to be about designing a new system that rethought how we design, use, repair and consider end-of-life for our products.”

Starting with a hardshell jacket was a no-brainer for the brand. Not only is it a key product category for Arc’teryx, but it’s also a technically complex garment that needs to withstand extreme weather conditions.

At close inspection, the Sperro SV doesn’t look or feel much different than existing designs in the company’s outerwear line-up: it’s sleek and vibrant, with plenty of pockets and a protective hood and adjustable cuffs to protect from harsh weather. The jacket, which at $1,500 costs a few hundred dollars more than the priciest hardshell Arc’teryx currently offers, is waterproof and breathable. It’s made in part with recycled Econyl yarn and manufactured by the company in New Westminster, B.C.

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What makes it noteworthy is that it was specifically designed with repairability and end-of-life in mind. Designers worked with experts from ReBird, Arc’teryx’s repair program, to develop a garment that would last longer and be easier to repair.

“That helped guide a lot of things,” said Andrew Yip, senior director of materials, advanced concepts. “Like, okay, well we have an option to execute a hem three different ways. Let’s pick the one that’s the easiest to repair and that we know is going to be the most durable with the years of data that we have from the other jackets we’ve made.”

Then, once the jacket can no longer be repaired or refreshed, it can be chemically recycled (with the exception of its trim, Gore-Tex membrane and Recco reflector) through a partner company called Aquafil.

More System 0 products are set to follow. “We have a roadmap of different styles that we’re re-approaching with the learnings from this project,” said Yip. “The jacket’s not the innovation; it’s the shift in mentality and the ecosystem that we’re building around it which is different.”

Good on You’s Hobson-Lloyd, whose job involves reviewing sustainability initiatives, said that in general, the brands she finds most inspirational are the ones “addressing circularity at every stage of their process.” That includes looking closely at the raw materials, minimizing waste in the design process, designing for longevity rather than following trends and producing less.

“It’s not that they’re following a linear model but happen to have resale as part of it,” she said.

It isn’t only outdoor performance brands that are thinking about end-of-life plans. Independent fashion labels are also investing in circularity, including Toronto-based SteMargScot, which specializes in wool coats and accessories. To produce the company’s Confetti sauna hats, founder Sasha Jardine works with Guelph, Ont.-based WoolGrown to needle felt wool bits made from production scraps onto a thin layer of virgin wool.

Jardine has also done trials with textile research organization CTT Group in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., to make usable fibre from wool scraps. “We know that the process works now, so we’re at that stage,” she said. The founder is now trying to figure out how to effectively use the output in her line.

These kinds of initiatives take time, and funds, but Jardine feels strongly about the importance of investing in them.

“I think circularity is the pie in the sky for all fashion brands, and so using our valuable postproduction waste for me is a no-brainer, it’s table stakes.”