Despite meaningful progress in alternative business models and recycled materials, total emissions and fibre production continue to rise. According to Textile Exchange, recycled polyester output increased from 8.9 to 9.3 million tonnes in 2024—yet its overall market share fell as virgin polyester grew even faster, undermining decarbonisation efforts. Fashion Revolution underscores the issue: only 9% of major brands disclose their production volumes, yet that small group alone accounts for 4.3 billion items annually.
In this session, our panellists will debate whether circularity will ever fix overproduction. We’ll assess:
- Can brands really decouple growth from production while the industry models continues to rely on growth through production? What systemic changes could enable this?
- Do our alternative business models risk in the current policy environment becoming additional consumption cycles that don’t displace virgin production?
- What does a truly circular textiles industry look like in practice—and are we actually following the waste hierarchy, or just skipping straight to recycling?
- Given overproduction’s carbon impact, should we prioritise proven decarbonisation solutions like clean energy and material upcycling over circularity models that don’t reduce total volumes?
Halfway through the session, we’ll flip the stage and invite the audience to join the debate.
What to expect from this type of session...
Main stage sessions, but not as you know them. Because we’re off-the-record, leading experts can speak candidly about their experience with what works, and what doesn’t. At least half the session is dedicated to audience insights and questions to ensure we tackle the big issues head on.
