CIRCULARITY ISN’T A SILVER BULLET

Why Circularity – Resale and Repair Alone Won’t Save Fashion

In the race to rebrand fashion as more sustainable, circularity has emerged as the golden child. Resale platforms are booming. Repair services are having a renaissance. Brands—luxury and fast fashion alike—are eager to position themselves on the right side of history by launching their own secondhand shops or mending programs. But behind the polished press releases and Instagrammable repair kits lies an inconvenient truth: resale and repair, while helpful, won’t fix fashion’s environmental crisis on their own.

Instead of questioning how much we’re producing, the industry is asking how long we can keep products in motion. And that, experts say, misses the point.

The Circularity Mirage

Let’s start with the basics. Circular fashion refers to a model where clothes are designed, produced, and reused in a closed loop—minimizing waste and maximizing lifespan. Think: resale, rental, repair, recycling. It’s a compelling narrative in a world fed up with fast fashion’s excess.

But this model assumes that the more we resell or repair, the more sustainable the system becomes. Not so fast.

“Circular strategies only reduce environmental impact if they replace new production,” says Dr. Kate Fletcher, Professor of Sustainability, Design, and Fashion at the Royal Danish Academy. “Otherwise, we’re just layering new business models on top of the same overconsumption problem.”

Resale: The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated

Resale platforms like The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, and Depop are reshaping the way we view ownership. Even fast fashion giants like Zara and Shein have dipped into resale programs, aiming to extend product life cycles and appeal to Gen Z’s climate-conscious leanings.

But the results are mixed.

Vestiaire Collective, to its credit, has banned fast fashion from its platform altogether, calling it “incompatible with circularity.” Meanwhile, Shein launched its resale app Shein Exchange in 2022, a move widely criticized as greenwashing, considering the brand releases thousands of new styles daily.

“The secondhand market doesn’t work if it becomes just another excuse to buy more,” says Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution. “You can’t thrift your way out of overproduction.”

Research supports this. A 2023 study from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that secondhand items often supplement rather than replace new purchases. In short: more resale doesn’t automatically mean less consumption.

Repair as Resistance—or Just Rebranding?

On the repair front, some brands are doing better. Patagonia has long championed its Worn Wear program, offering repairs and resales as part of its anti-consumption ethos. Dr. Martens recently launched an in-house refurbishing initiative, restoring scuffed boots to near-new condition. Even COS, the minimalist sibling of H&M, now offers alterations and repairs in select stores.

But these programs often lack scale—and intention. “Offering repair is great, but not if it’s just a marketing tick box,” says Aja Barber, sustainability writer and author of Consumed. “The true test is whether the brand is also reducing its production and extending quality in the first place.”

Most fast fashion brands offer garments that aren’t even made to survive multiple washes, let alone merit repair. Circularity, then, begins not with a needle and thread—but with design.

The Missing Piece: Degrowth

What’s often left out of the circularity conversation is the one thing no brand wants to say out loud: we need to produce and buy less.

That’s where the concept of degrowth enters—a radical, and often unpopular, idea in a growth-obsessed global economy. Degrowth suggests a fundamental rethinking of value: prioritizing ecological health over endless expansion.

“Circularity can’t be reduced to a feel-good app or a repair program,” says Dr. Timo Rissanen, Associate Professor of Fashion and Sustainability at UTS. “We have to embrace systemic change—slower fashion cycles, longer product lives, and a culture that respects limits.”

It also means rejecting planned obsolescence, investing in design that lasts, and building infrastructures—like garment libraries, community repair hubs, and rental systems—that prioritize access over ownership.

A Cultural Shift, Not Just a Technical One

Ultimately, sustainability isn’t a tech fix—it’s a mindset shift. Repair and resale are valuable tools, but only if they serve a deeper transformation. Otherwise, we risk rebranding consumption as a virtue rather than confronting its cost.

For the fashion industry to truly change, it must move from marketing circularity to embodying it. That means slowing down, scaling back, and letting go of the myth that we can shop our way to salvation.

Because the future of fashion isn’t about keeping clothes in the loop—it’s about breaking the cycle for good.

Further Reading