Clothing development process towards a circular model

The textile and clothing industry uses many resources. It causes a lot of environmental problems: water pollution, consuming a massive amount of raw materials, energy, chemicals, etc. The garments are produced to be worn and cleaned several times, and their lifespan is considerably reduced. Over 60% of what the consumer buys, becomes unuseful (either the consumer forgot what he/she has, or the product is not fashionable anymore, or it does not fit). It is compulsory and essential to understand the necessity of creating a new balance between the use of resources, the lifespan of the products and consumer behaviour. Closing the loop and building a new understanding of how the textile and clothing industry can exist is the key to the future - to develop and implement the circular business model. This type of business implies some changes in the production flow: the materials are recycled in several rounds, the design process has to take into account several lifecycles of the items (with the same destination or a different one), the products are designed to be re-included in a system where it is possible, and the consumer has to be educated to accept these categories of products. Each stage of the production process has to be sustainable, environmentally friendly and with a low production cost. In terms of a sustainable design process, this paper presents the main stages of the designing process of a garment (leisure sports jacket), with a versatile shape and usage (garment/backpack). The garment is designed and manufactured to allow and the vice-versa transformation without any technological modifications. By using a creative and feasible design and manufacturing solution, the waste of worn garments will be considerably reduced, and the product lifespan prolonged, as much as it is possible.