2
2
4
6
-
MARCH/APRIL 2020 PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTA SCHLUETER FASTCOMPANY.COM 59MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2020FOR WEAVING THE
CLOTHING INDUSTRY
INTO THE CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
For decades, Americans have had an insatiable appetite for new cloth-
ing, spurred on by the fast-fashion industry, which cranked out cheap, dispos-
able garments that helped global clothing production double from 50 billion
items a year in 2000 to more than 100 billion today. (There are only 7.8 billion
humans on the planet.) The environmental toll of this is steep: Apparel producers consume
108 million tons of nonrenewable resources every year and emit 1.2 billion tons of green-
house gases, more than all international flights and maritime shipping trips combined.
Meanwhile, a truckload of clothes is either sent to the landfill or incinerated every second.
But the tide is turning: Between 2017 and 2019, the number of items in American women’s
closets dropped for the first time, from 164 to 136—a trend that’s been aided by several start-
ups transforming the way clothing is bought and sold. Some of these companies, such as
CaaStle, are creating clothing rental services that satisfy people’s desire to be in style without
having to shop. Others, like ThredUp and Trove, are building resale marketplaces that extend
the life of everyday clothes. All of them are challenging the preconception—among shoppers
and clothing brands alike—that newer is better.ThredUp Trove