"It was a huge effort to launch our Circular Design Guide last year, and we're sticking to all the principles and strategies. Now we're simply expanding with more layers and new knowledge, as there is no doubt that this is a dynamic area where everyone is getting wiser almost daily," said Camilla Skjønning Jørgensen, innovation manager.
The project is mean to get aligned with the new legislation which is currently being prepared due to the EU Commission's textile strategy, which aims to shift towards a climate-neutral and circular economy where products are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable, and energy-efficient.
The new version of the Circular Design Guide also includes sections on the product user and product purpose in the design process.
"It's both straightforward and very complex at the same time - before we can design an actual product, we need to thoroughly understand who we are designing for as well as what purpose the product is supposed to serve. Who uses our product and how, and how much do they use it? The least sustainable product is basically the one that is never used," says Emma Bach Nørbæk, project specialist and co-creator of the guide, Bestseller.
"Garments must be developed, produced and used to last as long as possible. And they should also have a purpose when they're worn out. In short, a product must always be designed for its entire lifespan," she added.
Bestseller's Circular Design Guide has been created in collaboration with, among others, researchers from Design School Kolding, a partner in the Resuit project, which Bestseller is also a part of.
Resuit, led by the Danish Technological Institute and supported by the Danish Innovation Fund, has brought together a number of key players to push the boundaries of fashion design, recycling technologies and consumer behavior.
"Since the first edition, we have collected further knowledge and experiences on what is necessary as well as useful to know for product developers - such as designers - when designing for circularity," continued Emma Bach Nørbæk.
"Among other things, we have added a section on circular business models. Although it's not the product developers who have to implement these business models, it's extremely important that they have in-depth knowledge of them. They set new requirements for how we must design our products in the future," she emphases.
Among Bestseller's main ambitions, there is the aim to become "circular by design". Therefore, the Danish fashion house has invested in a number of innovators that support a circular economy through its investment arm Invest FWD.
The aim to reach its goals was made possible thanks to collaborations across industry level. For this Bestseller is working with Asos, H&M Group and Zalando on circular design using the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's vision of a circular economy for fashion as a basis of its Circular Design Consortium.
At first, the consortium's ambition was to align approaches - such as securing agreement on circular design terminology and to learn from each other. Now its plan is to expand the scope to drive further impact and scale, but also to make its circular design tool publicly available to anyone interested.
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