Continuing its mission of reimagining retail experiences, Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) Retail Week 2021, in association with One Galle Face and HSBC Sri Lanka, hosted an event on circularity, how we can start being circular, and how circularity can come into retail.
Delivering the keynote address, circular economic solutions company Chakra Suthra Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Himesh Fernando explained that circularity is all about how companies, consumers, materials, and money can flow in a circular manner, staying as renewable as possible with minimal waste and impact on the environment.
Dr. Fernando shared that our current ways of doing business give very little thought to what happens after a product is sold to the consumer, especially as to where the product will go once it has served its purpose.
[caption id="attachment_130076" align="alignright" width="469"]
"We need to think about designing our waste, thinking about what the materials are, can they be reused, and how" Chakra Suthra Founder/CEO Dr. Himesh Fernando[/caption]
Getting closer to circularity
Speaking on how companies can move towards circularity, Dr. Fernando explained that this will require a shift in thinking along the supply chain. “We need to think about designing our waste, thinking about what the materials are, can they be reused, and how?”
Part of making supply chains – and by extension companies – circular is through making sure the materials that go into making products, which are renewable, can be reused or are biodegradable.
Other steps that companies can take to become more circular is extending the life span of their products and actively making products that can last longer and be used longer. The consumer model of today is to consume, consume, and consume, with companies designing products that have shorter and shorter lives. But by extending the product life span and exploring other business models like subscription models where products are like services and rented for shorter periods of times, great strides can be taken towards achieving circularity.
Another alternative business model that can drive companies closer to circularity is sharing platforms where resources can be shared by several companies or consumers. While noting the importance of recycling in circularity, Dr. Fernando also explained that recycling is very far down the hierarchy of circularity-oriented actions, as by itself, recycling, while minimising waste doesn’t always keep things going circular.
The main barriers to companies achieving circularity, Dr. Fernando said, is largely how we think and approach things from the design of products to consumer culture behaviour.
Circularity and retail
Dr. Fernando’s keynote address was followed by a panel discussion on circularity in fashion retail, with the people behind some of Sri Lanka’s popular sustainable brands sharing their views. The panel included sustainable lifestyle brand House of Lonali Founder Lonali Rodrigo, curated preloved items platform Apé Founder Himali De Silva, and sustainable fashion brand Koca by RN Co-Founder Najila Ablej.
The panel discussed changes they had observed in consumer demands for fashion and fashion retail, with Rodrigo sharing that the pandemic has given way to a generally more circular mindset because of the changes made to supply chains during the pandemic because of lockdowns and import restrictions.
“The consumption pattern has changed,” Rodrigo said, sharing that emphasis is now on local materials and products – something which greatly reduces carbon footprint and increases circularity because of the involvement of local businesses producing local materials as opposed to importing materials with a greater carbon footprint that come swift imports.
Speaking on the theme of changing customer attitudes, De Silva explained that 2020 has seen an increased interest in the concept of pre-loved clothes, stressing that wearing pre-loved clothing has always been part of the Sri Lankan mindset, but just known by less fancy names. The famous hand-me-downs that every Sri Lankan child received growing up from siblings or cousins are pre-loved clothing, as are the clothes that people give to their domestic when they no longer wear them.
The year 2020 caused an uptick in the movement, though, because people couldn’t readily access foreign items and were becoming more risk-averse, especially when it came to expenses, which was where pre-loved clothing came in. “Apé made it cool to wear hand-me-downs. It became a little bit sexier and relatable in 2020.”
The panel also discussed how economical it is to be a sustainable fashion business, with Ablej sharing that her business model is very collaborative, working with small-scale businesses, vendors, and home businesses to create capsule collections which are then marketed and sold to clients who are willing to pay a premium for sustainable fashion.
Looking to the future, the panel agreed that sustainable fashion is becoming more and more mainstream, with companies and consumers becoming more and more aware of the impact of climate change and what impact their actions can have, concluding with the thought that in 10 years or so, we won’t need to have conversations on sustainability within fashion because sustainable fashion would be the norm.
"We need to think about designing our waste, thinking about what the materials are, can they be reused, and how" Chakra Suthra Founder/CEO Dr. Himesh Fernando[/caption]
Getting closer to circularity
Speaking on how companies can move towards circularity, Dr. Fernando explained that this will require a shift in thinking along the supply chain. “We need to think about designing our waste, thinking about what the materials are, can they be reused, and how?”
Part of making supply chains – and by extension companies – circular is through making sure the materials that go into making products, which are renewable, can be reused or are biodegradable.
Other steps that companies can take to become more circular is extending the life span of their products and actively making products that can last longer and be used longer. The consumer model of today is to consume, consume, and consume, with companies designing products that have shorter and shorter lives. But by extending the product life span and exploring other business models like subscription models where products are like services and rented for shorter periods of times, great strides can be taken towards achieving circularity.
Another alternative business model that can drive companies closer to circularity is sharing platforms where resources can be shared by several companies or consumers. While noting the importance of recycling in circularity, Dr. Fernando also explained that recycling is very far down the hierarchy of circularity-oriented actions, as by itself, recycling, while minimising waste doesn’t always keep things going circular.
The main barriers to companies achieving circularity, Dr. Fernando said, is largely how we think and approach things from the design of products to consumer culture behaviour.
Circularity and retail
Dr. Fernando’s keynote address was followed by a panel discussion on circularity in fashion retail, with the people behind some of Sri Lanka’s popular sustainable brands sharing their views. The panel included sustainable lifestyle brand House of Lonali Founder Lonali Rodrigo, curated preloved items platform Apé Founder Himali De Silva, and sustainable fashion brand Koca by RN Co-Founder Najila Ablej.
The panel discussed changes they had observed in consumer demands for fashion and fashion retail, with Rodrigo sharing that the pandemic has given way to a generally more circular mindset because of the changes made to supply chains during the pandemic because of lockdowns and import restrictions.
“The consumption pattern has changed,” Rodrigo said, sharing that emphasis is now on local materials and products – something which greatly reduces carbon footprint and increases circularity because of the involvement of local businesses producing local materials as opposed to importing materials with a greater carbon footprint that come swift imports.
Speaking on the theme of changing customer attitudes, De Silva explained that 2020 has seen an increased interest in the concept of pre-loved clothes, stressing that wearing pre-loved clothing has always been part of the Sri Lankan mindset, but just known by less fancy names. The famous hand-me-downs that every Sri Lankan child received growing up from siblings or cousins are pre-loved clothing, as are the clothes that people give to their domestic when they no longer wear them.
The year 2020 caused an uptick in the movement, though, because people couldn’t readily access foreign items and were becoming more risk-averse, especially when it came to expenses, which was where pre-loved clothing came in. “Apé made it cool to wear hand-me-downs. It became a little bit sexier and relatable in 2020.”
The panel also discussed how economical it is to be a sustainable fashion business, with Ablej sharing that her business model is very collaborative, working with small-scale businesses, vendors, and home businesses to create capsule collections which are then marketed and sold to clients who are willing to pay a premium for sustainable fashion.
Looking to the future, the panel agreed that sustainable fashion is becoming more and more mainstream, with companies and consumers becoming more and more aware of the impact of climate change and what impact their actions can have, concluding with the thought that in 10 years or so, we won’t need to have conversations on sustainability within fashion because sustainable fashion would be the norm.