While the circular economy promotes reuse and recycling in fashion, new research reveals a ‘rebound effect.’ Efficiency gains can lead to increased consumption, negating environmental benefits and potentially worsening the problem.
The idea of a circular economy, essential “reduce, reuse, recycle,” has been promoted as a way to tackle environmental issues. Unlike the traditional model of “take, make, use, throw away,” the circular economy aims to keep materials in use for longer, reducing waste and preserving resources. In the fashion industry today, it goes beyond just repairing clothes or buying second-hand. New approaches include renting clothing, recycling fibres to create new fabric, and using AI to minimize waste and sort textiles for recycling.
At first glance, these ideas seem positive: less water, less use of new materials, and a smaller environmental impact. However, these methods can sometimes result in the opposite effect, worsening environmental problems.
How Sustainable Fashion Can Backfire
New study, published in Wiley Online Library, reveals that new “green” technologies in fashion can lead to a problem called the “backfire rebound effect”. This occurs when making clothing production more efficient and affordable encourages people to buy more clothes,
Let’s understand this with a simple example. Imagine a car that uses less fuel. While you might think it saves petrol, if people drive more because it’s cheaper, overall petrol use might actually increase. Similarly, when sustainable clothes become more affordable, people tend to buy more, leading to increased production and greater environmental harm.
What Is the Rebound Effect?
The rebound effect measures how improvements in efficiency influence the amount of production. It ranges from:
• Below zero: where environmental benefits are significant.
• Around one: where the benefits and harms are balanced.
• Above one: where harm is greater than before.
This concept isn’t new. In 1865, economist William Stanley Jevons discovered that more efficient coal use resulted in greater overall coal consumption. Now, researchers have found similar patterns in the fashion industry.
Fashion and textile industries consume about 20% of the world’s water and produce 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. They generate 92 million tonnes of waste annually, with less than 1% of that being recycled into new clothes. Moreover, global textile production is increasing rapidly, rising from 124 million tonnes in 2023 to an expected 160 million tonnes by 2030.
Experts found a global average rebound effect of 1.6. They say that instead of reducing harm, these green changes are partially driving growth in new clothing, leading to more environmental damage.
Why Does This Happen?
When recycling or other eco-friendly technologies make clothing production cheaper, consumers often buy more because it feels sustainable. In recent years, several businesses have entered the market with sustainable concept. However, this increased demand overshadows the benefits of the innovation, leaving the planet in a worse state.
What Can We Do?
The study suggests introducing a Pigouvian tax, a tax on activities that harm the environment. They found that for every 10% efficiency gain, a tax of about 1.25% on production is needed to avoid backfire. A 2.5% tax could bring the rebound effect to manageable levels. Other policies could help set limits on the number of new clothes produced, encourage longer-lasting garments, and promote truly sustainable consumption.
Real-World Examples
Some countries are already taking steps in this direction. France has a repair fund that helps people pay for clothing repairs. The UK, Europe, and Australia have initiatives aimed at reducing fashion waste. Programmes like the Better Cotton Initiative and the Fashion Pact are pushing for more sustainable production methods.
The study is the first to measure the rebound effect of circular economy innovations in fashion. It shows that while it can be beneficial, it risks accelerating the very problems it aims to solve.