An examination of the product development process for fashion remanufacturing

Abstract

Fast changing fashion trends have led to high consumption rates of clothing, shortening of life-spans formany fashion products and increasing amounts of textile waste. Addressing the problems caused by theunsustainable landscape of the fashion industry requires alternative solutions, new business models orwhole systems rethink. Fashion remanufacturing is one such strategy that supports material recirculationand thus reduces land filling of fashion waste. This paper examines the concept of fashion remanufac-turing, the requirements for a reverse supply chain and the barriers and opportunities that exist forfuture growth of this sustainable business. The investigation reveals that although collaboration amongkey players along the reverse supply chain is essential for business growth, the extent of this growthis dependent on the commitment and involvement of large fashion retailers and the fashion consumer.We conclude the paper by considering the implications for the fashion industry if fashion remanufacturewere to become a more mainstream business model.