‘The Time to Act is Now,’ CFIN Says in Interim Report
The Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN) released its interim report, highlighting the progress made and findings unearthed during the organization’s first year of supporting and guiding the creation of a circular fashion ecosystem in the United Kingdom.
The industry-led collaborative program—headed by the British Fashion Council (BFC) and UK Fashion and Textile (UKFT) in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)—focused on three key areas to form the CFIN’s foundation: circular business models, sustainable manufacturing and recycling infrastructure.
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“The UK fashion and textile industry is at a turning point, faced with both significant opportunities and challenges,” Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said. “Global markets are evolving rapidly, driven by sustainability demands, technology transformation and supply chain volatility; the UK sector must adapt swiftly to remain competitive and sustainable.”
Over the past year, CFIN has engaged various industry stakeholders to build an advisory board, which includes heavy hitters like the British Retail Consortium, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Innovate UK, among others. The resulting inaugural report intends to drive the UK fashion and textile sector to one with more “innovative, sustainable and economically vibrant” potential.
“The Interim Report marks a tangible milestone in CFIN’s mission to drive systemic change in the UK fashion industry,” Rush said. “It offers vital insights into the current state of circular practices, highlighting both progress made and critical areas where further action is needed to achieve long-term success.”
The first area of focus, CBMs, is defined as “business models that minimize the material used and waste produced” by promoting a “focus on the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit,” per the report. Think resale, rental and repair schemes—the opposite of linear models, which end in disposal. Spearheaded by Kathleen Mitchell, commercial director of John Lewis, CFIN found that the industry is relatively keen on circularity. Just shy of three-quarters (71 percent) of surveyed UK-based brands and retailers include some form of a CBM in their five-year plans. Furthermore, 66 percent have at least one circular initiative in place.
Yet, that research also unearthed a lack of industry-wide alignment on what, exactly, it means to be “circular.”
This disconnect between ambition and implementation saw less than half of the organizations embedding circular principles have a concrete definition of what a “circular product” is, underscoring a need for clarity and standardization. Even more, 63 percent of existing customer-facing CBMs are considered to be in a low-maturity pilot phase. The primary barrier to scaling CBMs is the financial viability, per CFIN, alongside challenges in customer communication and demand.
Thus, the collaborative initiative suggests developing an accelerator program to support scaling CBMs, utilizing a “harmonized approach” to how brands and retailers communicate with their customers about sustainable fashion.
The second area of focus, sustainable manufacturing, centered around reducing the industry’s environmental impact while upskilling the UK workforce. UKFT chairman Nigel Lugg led the work for this theme, which considered the crossroads (influenced by Brexit, Covid-19 and the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, among others) at which the industry stands.
That said, CFIN identified three key areas where sustainable manufacturing can support creating a circular fashion ecosystem: technology, reshoring and innovation.
The UK has a “unique opportunity” to lead the sustainable transformation of manufacturing by leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. One of CFIN’s key initiatives has been exploring AI-powered production planning software. A pilot project between an online retailer, a UK manufacturer and an innovator toyed with enhancing productivity and supporting Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing by way of AI.
Another pilot project aimed to transform unwashed jeans into “trend-responsive fashion products” within the UK, as to demonstrate the commercial viability of onshoring denim finishing for a local brand. The six-month initiative, in collaboration with LaundRe, involved processing 200 jeans into several finishes to deliver four fashion washes aligned with the buyer’s desires as well as sustainability goals and accessible pricing.
A separate project with LaundRe, dubbed “ReBorn,” explored the renewal of discarded and dirty denim. In collaboration with LMB Textiles, ReSkinned and Jeanologia, the UK’s first sustainable denim nearshoring and reprocessing hub “rejuvenated” those jeans into “as new,” premium-quality garments.
The exploration of integrating technological innovations in the UK’s manufacturing supply chains, focused on scaling capacity and collaboration, will continue to be a priority for CFIN.
These emerging areas of sustainable fashion and textile manufacturing present a tremendous opportunity for the UK fashion and textiles industry,” Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, said. “By continuing to develop and implement these advanced technologies and more circular production methods, the UK can become a global leader in sustainable fashion manufacturing.”
Last but not least, CFIN is developing a National Textile Recycling Infrastructure Plan to address the UK’s need for the “sustainable management of non-rewearable textiles and to increase textile-to-textile recycling.” Veolia’s Gavin Graveson led the work for the recycling infrastructure theme.
“With approximately 1.45 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles generated annually in the UK, there is considerable potential to create an effective recycling ecosystem,” per the report. “This presents a socio-economic opportunity to capture the value of these textiles, generate sustainable benefits and contribute to economic growth and job creation.”
CFIN’s research and stakeholder engagements identified three areas that “demand immediate attention,” including a comprehensive national recycling plan, the potential for technological advancements and the substantial socio-economic benefits of developing “robust” recycling ecosystems.
“The potential of technological advancements, particularly in automated sorting technologies and innovative textile recycling processes, could transform the sector’s capabilities and the potential of capturing value of non-reusable textiles,” Tom Fiddian, head of AI and data economy programs for Innovate UK, said. “The transition to a circular fashion ecosystem in the UK requires collective effort and commitment from all stakeholders.”
Thus, CFIN will continue developing this national recycling plan and advocate for extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to finance the necessary infrastructure as well as “foster cross-sector collaboration.”
“This report highlights how we’ve been working to bring the entire industry together to start building a circular fashion ecosystem here in the UK. After a year, we’ve made some real progress and taken practical steps forward, but more importantly, we’ve brought together all parts of the supply chain,” Mansell said. “This isn’t just about solving the challenges in our sector—it’s also about creating new opportunities for growth, efficiency and sustainability across the whole industry.”
In 2020, the BFC launched its think tank, the Institute of Positive Fashion, to address the fashion industry’s environmental impact and the ongoing climate crisis. Last September, the BFC established CFIN to accelerate the industry-wide shift to support IPF’s mission to reach a circular, net-zero economy by 2030. Following this interim report, CFIN will continue working on these three main themes while developing another set of themes—novel technology, diverse and future-proof workforce and green growth—culminating in the organization’s May 2025 report.
“Now is the time for all stakeholders across industry—academia, NGOs and policymakers—to come together and leverage these findings to drive meaningful change,” the report concludes. “Together, we can create a more sustainable, innovative and economically vibrant future for the UK fashion and textile sector.”
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