New guidelines help fashion brands cut waste and emissions

RMIT sustainable fashion experts have collaborated with brands to create guidelines aimed at eliminating wasteful designs and promoting durable fashion that supports reuse and recycling.

The global fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

The new guide, Refashioning: accelerating circular product design at scale, outlines steps for makers to transition from linear to circular design, focusing on maximising the lifespan of products and materials.

Lead author and Dean of RMIT’s School of Fashion and Textiles, Professor Alice Payne, said the guide challenged traditional design thinking with practical steps to enable change.

“This guide provides a systematic and methodological approach to implementing circular clothing design in a way that all organisations can implement, regardless of their size,” she said.

“Based on extensive research with the industry, we’ve created practical steps businesses can take to improve the circularity of their outputs.

“Although other circular design guides are available, Refashioning is unique in providing a systematic methodology that enables designers to both slow the flow and close the loop.”

The dominant production and consumption method used by most brands today creates clothing for a linear economy – a system of take, make and waste.

To switch to a circular method that allows materials to be recycled, critical aspects such as material choices, product purpose and use, durability, and end-of-life options need to be considered early in the design process.

Funded by Sustainability Victoria, the guide’s production was a collaboration between RMIT, Country Road Group brands and two independent partners, circular design expert Courtney Holm and sustainability expert Julie Boulton.

Sustainability Victoria’s CEO, Matt Genever, said the research connected industry, government, and academia to address textile waste.

“It’s an example of how effective cross-sector collaboration can generate impactful results in the transition to a circular economy,” he said.

“By fostering partnerships across sectors, Sustainability Victoria enables meaningful change that moves beyond theory and into real, actionable solutions.”

Applied expertise was central to the design of the guidelines, as they were tested by users on actual products.

For over a year, the team worked with eight product and design teams across four brands within the Country Road Group – Country Road, Trenery, Witchery and Politix – to test and refine the guides in a commercial context.

Country Road Group’s Head of Sustainability, Erika Martin, said working on the guide’s creation has started the Group on a journey towards having a common understanding and approach to circular design across its brands.

“This project delivered a clear vision for circular design, and leveraged the expertise in the industry, academia and our own business,” she said.

“The opportunity to help create guidelines based on real life feedback and challenges and not just academic theory was a key driver for our involvement, alongside our commitment to building a better future.”

Refashioning: accelerating circular product design at scale, with RMIT co-authors Alice Payne, Yassie Samie, Jenny Underwood, Saniyat Islam, Rebecca Van Amber and Regine Abos,is published on refashioning.org.