Panel talk Fashion Industry 2.0: How circularity can fix a broken system | Circular Economy and Fashion Rental

For the Dutch Circular Economy Week, we put together an online circular fashion event ♻️ with exceptional experts in this field to talk about how circularity can fix the broken system of the fashion industry, with hands-on examples and practices. From the pandemic to climate change, we will touch upon the latest trends and what the next normal of the fashion industry will look like after this is all over. We will also dive deeper into the rental business model, its benefits and current challenges, with PALANTA as a (prime) example.

Meet the panellists: Rachel Cannegieter-Markus: Circular Fashion expert, founder of RethinkRebels, and guest lecturer at AMFI. Andrea Orsag: Co-founder and partner at MissionC, strategy advisory based in Amsterdam on a mission to accelerate the transition to Circular Economy on a global scale. Sara Toth: Founder of PALANTA, a fashion rental platform offering items from sustainable brands only. Moderator: Martina Novakova: Fair fashion advocate @With Fair Flair & Creative strategist for sustainable brands.

Questions discussed:

♻️ Can you briefly tell us what does circularity mean and why we should talk about it in the first place? (7:45)

♻️ How has the fashion industry been altered by COVID beneath the surface? And how do you think circularity can be a response to this current crisis? (11:40)

♻️ How did you see the pandemic affect Palanta, and do you think you are being affected differently compared to unsustainable fashion businesses (both in a positive and negative way)? (17:17)

♻️ What do you see, as “the new normal”, or shall we say “the next normal”, of the fashion industry? (22:35)

♻️ What do you think currently non-sustainable brands can do to make their business more circular, and thus more sustainable? Do you have any concrete examples? (32:39)

♻️ Rental business model: Why does it make sense? What are the benefits, what are the challenges? (40:00)

♻️ What is it to implement the rental business model in practice? What is your experience with Palanta? (41:54)

♻️ What is your point of view on this business model, particularly for the fashion industry? Are we going to see rentals only, with no ownership at all in the future? (44:50)

Audience Q&A: ♻️ Which industries have good scores in terms of circularity in The Netherlands? (53:11)

♻️ How do we compensate for the ‘this is not completely new feeling’ when we are renting? (55:01)

♻️ How do you think the sustainable/circular community be more inclusive for those who don’t have the money/time to adapt to this lifestyle? (56:37)

♻️ What is your opinion about second-hand clothing platforms like Vinted? There is some discussion going on about how sustainable they really are as they indirectly encourage people to buy more (because they can get rid of it easily on these platforms.) (1:00:04)

♻️ I own a small label, how do you see joining a rental marketplace could be an added value for me? (1:01:22)

More info and socials of the panelists:

RethinkRebels: Website: https://rethinkrebels.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rethinkrebels/

MissionC: Website: https://www.missionc.nl/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearemissionc/

PALANTA: Website: http://palanta.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palanta.co/

WithFairFlair: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withfairflair/

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