From Linear to Circular: Rethinking Fashion's Lifecycle

A deep dive into the complexity and promise of circular fashion design

Imagine a world where every piece of clothing you own could live multiple lives—worn, loved, repaired, and eventually returned to the earth or transformed into something new. This isn't a distant dream; it's the foundation of circular fashion design, and it's happening right now.

Currently, most fashion follows a linear path: we take resources, make products, use them briefly, then dispose of them. But there is an alternative that is making its presence felt — a circular approach that rethinks every stage of a garment's life, creating beauty and value while respecting our planet and the people who craft our clothes.

The Linear Problem

The traditional fashion lifecycle is devastatingly simple:

• Take: Extract raw materials, often with significant environmental cost
• Make: Produce garments quickly and cheaply, prioritising speed over longevity
• Use: Wear briefly, often just a few times before discarding
• Dispose: Throw away, adding to the 92 million tonnes of textile waste created globally each year (300,000 tonnes in Australia alone)

This model treats clothing as disposable, ignoring the complex web of resources, labour, and environmental impact that goes into every single garment.

The Circular Vision

Circular fashion reimagines this entirely: Design thoughtfully → Make to last → Use longer → Keep circulating (repair, recycle, remake, resell, return to earth).

This circular model creates a continuous loop where nothing is wasted:

This model is more complex, with many more pathways, but it dramatically reduces waste and, in some cases, can even give back to the environment. It requires us to think about a garment's entire lifecycle from the moment we begin designing.

Further reading: 

Circular Fashion - Making the Fashion Industry Sustainable by Peggy Blum

My Circular Design Journey

Right now, I'm deep in this complex journey, which has been stepped up a notch through my participation in the Seamless Australia circularity workshop. I'm redesigning some of my products to achieve true circularity—and discovering just how intricate this process really is.

The Ruby Jumper Redesign Challenge

I'm currently sampling new mono-fibre fabrics for The Ruby Jumper, moving away from the cotton-elastane blend I currently use. The goal? A garment made entirely from one material type that can be properly recycled at end of life.

This means sourcing cotton fabric with mechanical stretch instead of relying on elastane. It requires rethinking the pattern and possibly the design itself to ensure the jumper still has the comfortable fit and drape that makes it special. Every choice—from the cotton labels to the thread we use—needs to support the circular model.

Zero Waste Skirts: Already on the Journey

My Zero Waste Skirts are closer to the circular ideal. They're made from mono-cotton fabric with compostable buttons and mono thread. But even here, the details matter enormously. Those recycled polyester labels? They need to go, replaced with cotton alternatives. The interfacing? I need to confirm with Courtney from Sustainable Sourcing whether it can be recycled alongside the organic cotton fabric.

At end of life, these skirts would need careful deconstruction—buttons removed for composting, labels removed if not compatible with the fabric recycling stream. 

The Complexity No One Talks About

This process has shown me the intricate research required for true circularity. I'm currently investigating:

• Fabric compostability: Can our cotton fabrics actually break down safely given the chemicals used in pre-processing and the inks in our prints?
• Component compatibility: Will every element work together in recycling systems?
• End-of-life logistics: How do we create systems for customers to return garments for proper processing?

I'm looking to reach out to universities like RMIT and Deakin, who are working on research on fabric compostability and sustainability, as new standards are being developed. The fashion industry has operated on the linear model for so long that the infrastructure and knowledge for circularity is still being built.

The Underwear Dilemma

Originally, I planned to redesign my women's underwear for the Seamless Australia workshop. Moving to mono-fabric seems simple enough, but then you consider the natural organic elastic waistbands and water-based pigment dyes. Even with these more sustainable choices, if the inks cannot be composted, then the components would need to be deconstructed at end of life for proper recycling. Not an easy job.

The questions multiply: Are the fabric pre-treatments for printing compatible with composting? What about the inks? Each decision creates ripple effects through the entire lifecycle.

The Questions We're Still Asking

This journey has reinforced why sustainable design takes time and costs more. Every choice requires research, testing, and often, accepting that we don't have all the answers yet. We're asking questions like:

• How do we balance performance with circularity?
• What compromises are worth making, and which aren't?
• How do we create systems that actually work for customers?
• How do we communicate this complexity without overwhelming people?

Creating Customer Pathways for Circularity

One of the most important aspects of circular design that I'm exploring is what happens when customers are ready to move on from a piece. How do we create systems that actually work for people's real lives?

I'm currently researching a buy-back program for by Audrey & Grace—a way for customers to return garments to us when they're ready for their next life. This could involve reselling pieces through a second-hand section on our website, or ensuring proper end-of-life processing for items that have reached the end of their wearable life.

The goal is to provide you with meaningful options: whether that's knowing your beloved Ruby Jumper will find a new person to love it, or that it will be repaired or properly deconstructed and recycled rather than ending up in landfill. This closes the loop between maker and wearer, creating ongoing relationships rather than one-off transactions.

But like everything in circular design, it's complex. How do we assess condition? What pricing makes sense? How do we handle different garment types? I'd love your thoughts on what would make a buy-back program valuable to you whether it be a credit voucher for your next purchase or a discount, or any others ideas you might have—please reach out if you have ideas or feedback.

The Vision Forward

Despite the complexity—or perhaps because of it—I'm more convinced than ever that this is the path forward. At by Audrey & Grace, I'm building toward a model where:

• Every garment is designed for longevity and end-of-life processing
• Customers can return pieces to us for repair, remake, or proper recycling
• Nothing goes to landfill
• Quality and circularity work together, not against each other

This isn't just about making better products—it's about fundamentally rethinking our relationship with clothing and making better choices. It's about creating pieces that have multiple lives, that contribute to a regenerative system rather than a linear one.

Why This Matters

The circular model asks more of everyone—designers, manufacturers, and consumers. But it also offers more: clothing with stories, emotional connections, and actual value that extends far beyond a single season.

When you choose a circular approach, you're not just buying a garment. You're participating in a system that respects the hands that made it, the land that grew its fibres, and the future we're all creating together.

This is complex work, but it's necessary work. And as challenging as it is, there's something deeply satisfying about designing with the full lifecycle in mind—knowing that the beautiful piece someone wears today can return to the earth safely in time, or live on in a new form for someone else to love.

Want to be part of this circular journey? Every time you choose to repair, resell, or hold onto a quality piece longer, you're contributing to the change. And when you're ready for new pieces, choosing makers who think about the full lifecycle—like my Ruby Jumpers and Zero Waste Skirts—helps build the circular future we're all working toward.