ASOS launches second circular design collection in partnership with Thrift+

For the Spring/Summer season, ASOS has introduced its second circular design collection, which includes 47 pieces of clothes and accessories, as well as a trial cooperation with resale site Thrift+.

ASOS’ circular design standards, which are based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for a circular fashion economy, apply to each of the 47 designs in the circular design collection. All goods in the collection are manufactured from recycled, renewable, or innovative materials as part of this.

The collection is a continuation of ASOS’ previous circular design collection, which debuted in September 2020. While the 2020 collection was created by a small number of teams who had progressed through ASOS’ circular design education program, the products in the collection launching today were created by every commercial team across ASOS, reflecting the wider rollout of circular design education across ASOS’ teams.

It comes after the November 2021 release of the ASOS Circular Design Handbook, a 112-page interactive resource to assist ASOS, external designers, students, and other fashion firms in designing and creating circular economy-friendly fashion goods.

ASOS consumers may choose from cut-out detail dresses, oversized, color-blocked shirts, and “boyfriend” jeans, all of which can be accessorized with patterned headscarves and sunglasses.

Vanessa Spence, Commercial Design and Visual Director at ASOS, said that to have a successful commercial future, the fashion industry needs to be both sustainable and circular. They’ve been working with their partners and experts over the past several years to figure out how they can be more circular, which is one of their new 2030 Fashion with Integrity goals. As they continue to strengthen their knowledge in this area, the debut of their second circular design collection, which incorporates creative new materials and pushes their circular design principles even further, is a tremendous occasion for them.

Spence added that of course, design is only one part of the circular jigsaw — items must flow through circular systems as well as fulfill their circular design standards to be genuinely round. While resale is only one of many systems, they’re excited to announce today the commencement of a new experiment with Thrift+ to extend the life of items by allowing them to be resold quickly and efficiently.

Joe Metcalfe, Thrift+ Founder, said that they’re happy to assist ASOS’ development towards circularity with the commencement of this experiment. Making it simple for consumers to ethically recirculate unwanted clothes is critical to making fashion more circular, and it’s fantastic that ASOS customers will now have access to the Thrift+ service. They’re excited to track the trial’s impact, including the number of goods resold and the money earned for charity, as well as incorporate data on item resale success into future circular product design.

Jo Mourant, Senior Sustainability Partner at ASOS, said that they’ll also leverage their connection with Thrift+ to take notice of and look at the sort of goods being returned. They’ll be able to observe if Thrift+ is returning a certain product and revisit it during the design process. Working with someone like Thrift+, who already has the infrastructure, is a great opportunity to test that and improve their approach.