The report titled “Reverse Logistics for Circular Fashion System” features input from eight major global brands and organisations, including NIKE, H&M Group, Target, Puma Group, VF Corporation, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The report calls on fashion brands, logistics providers, and textile recyclers to work together to establish a more holistic and effective circular fashion system.

It emphasises the crucial role that logistics play in helping fashion companies manage the reverse flow of materials and products from end-users, enabling their resale, remaking, or recycling, extending their lifecycle, maximising value, and minimising waste.

The publication comes as over 520 global regulations are pushing companies to rethink their design and sourcing strategies, focusing on circularity and regionalisation. Earlier research from GFA and the United Nations Environment Programme found that 45% of fashion brands surveyed have set targets to derive at least 10% of their revenue from circular business models by 2040.

Despite the industry's movement towards circularity, the report notes that a comprehensive system is still lacking, with fragmented approaches failing to achieve commercial viability.

The report outlines three key elements for improving reverse logistics in fashion:

1. Network design: Expanding reverse logistics beyond consumer returns to capture and valorise post-industrial textile waste flows and unsold goods.
2. Financial ownership: Establishing clear financial models to define roles, responsibilities, and profit sharing, enhancing collaboration and investment.
3. Boosting collection volumes: Developing infrastructure for efficient collection and processing of textile waste, essential for scaling solutions and reducing recycled fibre costs.

Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, highlighted the importance of the report as a guide for the industry to embrace circularity, urging collaboration with logistics partners to reduce waste and create economic value.

Maersk’s head of commercial sustainability, Kaisa Tikk, echoed these sentiments and said: “Circularity requires both fashion companies and their logistics providers to rethink the setup of linear supply chains. Collaborating with logistics providers will provide fashion companies guidance on how logistics can help enhance fashion supply chains’ transition to circularity and avoid logistics being a road blocker during the implementation of circular systems.”

Yesterday (2 September), ASN Impact Investors cited insufficient sustainability efforts as its reason for selling €70m ($77.52m) worth of shares from major fashion brands, which raised questions about the viability of sustainable investing within the fashion industry.