International eTailer Asos has launched its first circular fashion collection following its collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.
The business, which counts Australia as one of its key markets, has launched the 29-piece collection after it made a commitment at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in 2018 to train all of its designers on circular design by 2020.
Included in that onboarding process were brands Sunshine Dreamer which sells a range of vintage pieces and ethical surfwear brand Andorwith, which places sustainability, family and community values at its core.
Using eight principles to guide the design of its circular collection – which include zero-waste design techniques, recycled input, versatility and disassembly potential – Asos has created the collection in line with the pillars of the circular economy as stated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The Foundation's principles focus on three key pillars which are; designing out waste and pollution; keeping products and materials in use; and, regenerating natural systems.
Each product in Asos' collection must apply design principles that meet a minimum of two of these foundations in order to be considered circular, meaning they will remain in use for as long as possible, can be re-used or re-purposed at the end of their lives, and create minimal waste.
Asos head of design Vanessa Spence said that the collection demonstrates that circular fashion doesn't have to be expensive.
"We’ve been on an incredible journey in Asos over the past few years to discover how circular design can work in practice in an organisation like Asos, and working closely with our suppliers to apply the circular design principles that we’ve set ourselves.
"What this collection shows is that you don’t need to make a choice between the circular economy and fashion, and that you can make sustainable products without compromising on design or on price.
"With all of our designers now trained in circular principles and our first circular collection out the door, we’re excited to see how we can take this project forward and use our size and scale to share our expertise with our suppliers but also other brands and retailers," she said.
The collection features oversized styling across cardigans, t-shirts and blue denim, while tailoring and oversized square neck volume dresses come in autumnal colours – brown, lilac and neutrals.
Each product features a QR code on its garment tag, which customers can scan to visit and learn more about the circular design principles and how the product was made.