Danish fashion group Bestseller is taking in a circular design idea developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation of UK in Bangladesh. Their motto is “waste not, want not” to attain sustainability in both the economy and environment.
“At Bestseller, we want to bring sustainable fashion forward until we are climate positive, fair for all and circular by design. To do this we need sustainable innovation and industry collaboration,” says Dorte Rye Olsen, Bestseller Sustainability Manager
Partnering with the Bangladeshi recycling company Cyclo and their domestic largest jersey supplier CMS Composite Knitting, the fashion retailer is supporting two projects that are meant to accelerate a more circular business model. One of the projects is about utilizing the company’s cutting waste and another is about recycling the yarns.
“Collaborations have been key to our success. Bestseller has been at the forefront of sustainability efforts for some time now and we like working with companies, which are genuinely interested and active in both the environment and economics,” says Mustafain Munir, founder and Director, Cyclo.
Bangladeshi garments produce 400,000 tonnes of scraps every year which ends up landfilling and degrading the environment. The Sustainable Materials & Innovation Manager of Bestseller Camilla Skjønning says, “We want to explore how we can keep the cotton waste in Bangladesh and set up workable circularity systems there. Keeping the waste in Bangladesh, even with the same supplier, benefits both economic and environmental perspectives.”
The recycling company Cyclo is working on limiting cotton waste to cause environmental pollution by upcycling the scraps and giving value to the fashion industry. It eliminated the dyeing process and mechanically reduced the usage of water, energy, chemicals as well as carbon emission. In the words of Mustafain, “Mechanically recycling fabric scraps to make fiber has been around a long time. However, this fiber has traditionally been downcycled and the resulting yarn written off as too ‘low quality’ for the fashion industry. Our goal was to prove to the world that there is a tremendous opportunity to upcycle these fibers back into fashion.”
Bestseller has already produced some successful final products which are expected to be showcased in 2022. Selected, Name It, Vero Moda the three brands of the fashion giant are working with CMS Composite Knitting and committed to promoting the world wearing the circular fashion wears.
The family-owned retailer is a member of the Global Fashion Agenda’s Circular Fashion Partnerships (CFP) which is focused on circularity at a structural level.
