Customers of C&A, a clothing retailer, will have a 10% discount on items from the brand’s new denim collection, with the condition that they return another item of clothing to the store. The action is already in effect, and will remain active throughout the month of April.
The returned clothes will be destined for Movimento ReCiclo, the retailer’s circular economy program. Depending on the condition and material, the piece follows one of three possible paths: being recovered and reused to make another product, a process known in the sector as upcycling; be recycled or sent for donation. There are ReCiclo collection points in all C&A stores, which total more than 300 in Brazil.
Data from the Brazilian Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry shows that, each year, almost 200 thousand tons of textile waste are incorrectly disposed of in the trash. C&A has been offering the possibility of correct disposal in its stores since 2018 in Brazil. Since then, the company has received around 40 thousand people per year, equivalent to almost a thousand tons of material.
Circular fashion
The concept of circular economy has been growing in fashion as a counterpoint to the so-called fast fashion, a strategy that has established Spanish company Zara. In the fast model, there is an incentive to constantly change your wardrobe, and brands launch collections all the time. As a negative externality, fast fashion generates underutilization of clothing and waste. An analysis by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes the circular economy, showed that in the period of greatest growth of the model, between 2000 and 2015, consumers reduced the average frequency of use of clothing items by 40%.
Images of the large clothing dump in the Atacama Desert, in Chile, and consumers’ greater environmental awareness contribute to making this problem a focus of concern for the sector. In fact, Artplan held the ‘Atacama Fashion Week’ together with the NGO Desierto Vestido, alerting about incorrect disposal of clothes. The action promoted a fashion show in the middle of the Atacama landfill, with models wearing looks made by producers from clothes dumped at the site.
Parade in the Atacama Desert (Photo: Mauricio Nahas)
C&A made a commitment to promoting circular fashion in 2015, and other retailers have also launched their initiatives. More recently, the demand for second-hand products proved to be a promising business, and a series of thrift store chains arrived on the market, some through the hands of large companies in the sector.
Arezzo&Co, which since the merger with Grupo Soma has become the largest Brazilian fashion company, launched Troc, an online thrift store, in 2016. This year, the operation started selling pieces from old collections, in an outlet model and gained relevance within the group, which controls 22 brands, including Reserva, Hering, Vans and Farm. In 2021, another large retailer, Renner, acquired the online thrift store Repassa, a competitor to Troc. The electronic retailer Dafiti, in turn, launched a thrift store to call its own, Emigê, last year.
In the field of upcycling, the advancement of technology allows textile companies to be more ambitious with their sustainable lines. Malwee, for example, invests in the Des.a.fio brand, which uses 85% yarn from used clothing and 15% fiber produced by recycling pet bottles, such as soft drink bottles. If there is one trend in today’s fashion, it is sustainability.
*With information from Exame/ Cover photo: Disclosure/ C&A
Follow Adnews on Instagram e LinkedIn. #WhereTransformationHappens
