We can define circular fashion as one in which we try to take waste and pollution out of the equation, and products and raw materials that continue to be used for as long as possible, also through reuse and recycling, and where we try to regenerate natural resources.
The Circularity Director at Mango, Claudia Hosta, which has just launched its first eco-designed denim collection as part of the group's new sustainability strategy, argues that the change that the sector, and society as a whole, must address is similar to that what was once made with packaging. According to Hosta, the industry must understand that textiles are also waste and need to be managed responsibly.
When speaking about circular design, Hosta states that this doesn’t merely involve pure and simple design, but that product teams are required to think about the fibers, the trimmings, the yarns used to make the garments or the technical properties of the garments themselves. In addition, the suppliers also play a very important role, as they have to acquire this knowledge and Mango requires them to understand the particularities of these designs. In the case of the new collection, Mango’s suppliers have played a key role.
Not only has Mango achieved this with reliable suppliers, but it has integrated its recycling processes which have allowed the company to make this collection with the remnants of previous productions. Mango has achieved this recycled and recyclable fabric that somehow, has allowed us to make this 360 degrees in the collection and contribute to closing the circle by introducing recycled fibers instead of conventional ones.
Mango’s First Eco-Denim Collection
This is the first collection Mango is launching as part of its sustainability strategy for 2030, and it’s the first of many. It’s true that it has to be something progressive and that the teams have to train, adapt and acquire all the knowledge related to ecodesign, which is in constant evolution.
In the coming years, laws and regulations are going to come in and brands will have to adapt. The European Union has already begun to publish drafts of the first eco-design directives, so this is the first step and our intention is that by 2030 these designs will predominate and be increasingly present.
Mango is one of Europe's largest groups in the fashion industry and it has just taken a step further on its path towards sustainability with the launch of its first denim collection designed with circularity criteria with the aim of making its garments more easily reusable and recyclable after their useful life, thus promoting the product's second life.
To achieve greater circularity, the new garments in the collection have been designed with 100% organic cotton which Mango sources from GOTS and the Better Cotton Initiative. At least 20% of the fibers come from recycled sources and the elimination of accessories such as trimmings or jacron labels. In addition, to achieve minimum waste in the product development process, the garments have been designed with 3D digital design technology to reduce the number of samples manufactured.
Mango has made the garments of this collection minimizing its environmental impact in aspects such as the use of chemicals or water and has incorporated an explanatory graphic inside the garment for its customers on circular design, thus minimizing the production of paper labels, approved by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Denim made from recycled materials.
New Sustainability Strategy for 2030
The denim collection designed with circular design criteria is the first capsule that Mango presents as part of its new sustainability strategy, called Sustainable Vision 2030, which aims to incorporate circular design criteria in its collections, with the goal that by 2030 these will predominate in the design of its products and that 100% of its fibers will be of sustainable or recycled origin.
To this end, Mango will increase in the coming years the design of products with circularity criteria, either by generating garments that are more easily recyclable (taking into account their composition and construction), betting on durability or using patterns that avoid the generation of textile waste.
In this sense, Mango's circular design strategy sets out three lines of action with the aim of helping to close the circle: to give it back to the loop, which aims to create garments with a simpler design, with a single type of fiber or fewer accessories, to achieve greater recyclability.
Mango's design process will consist of more durable garments through the use of selected materials with physical properties certified by AITEX, the reinforced construction of the garment and timeless design. Then, the strategy focuses on maximizing the use of the materials used and the reincorporation of textile waste. Mango also sources recycled garments that carry the Global Recycled Standard and the Recycled Claim Standard.