Asos to train design staff on circular fashion

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 28, 2018

Asos has enlisted the help of London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion to work on its commitment to accelerate the adoption of a circular fashion mentality.

Together, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and Asos will pilot a training programme for 15 members of Asos’ design team, who will progress through a series of half-day workshops, discussions and drop-in sessions to explore practical applications of circular design.

The bespoke course will be led by researchers and designers from the CSF team starting this month, Asos announced on Wednesday.

The effort is part of a pledge Asos made last year at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, when it committed to training all design teams on circular fashion techniques and best-practice by 2020.

Circular fashion has become the industry’s latest sustainable buzzword. Supported by leading institutions including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the concept promotes a system that is restorative and regenerative by design.

The results of this year’s programme will be used to inform future training and resources on circularity across Asos’ design staff.

Vanessa Spence, design director at Asos, said: “With this pilot we’re making sure our designers have the knowledge and skills they need to put sustainability and circularity into practice. It’s a vital step on our journey to designing products with circularity in mind right from the start, which will ensure that they are made responsibly, remain in use for as long as possible once they’re sold, and don’t cause unnecessary waste at the end of their lives.”

“Good design involves understanding and valuing all elements that come together in making and enjoying fashion,” added Dilys Williams, director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and professor of Fashion Design for Sustainability at London College of Fashion.

In addition to training its staff, Asos plans to launch a garment collection scheme and recycling programme for UK and Germany-based customers by 2020.