Patagonia, The North Face and Levi’s are the brands most committed to fashion circularity, according to management consulting firm Kearney’s 2022 Circular Fashion Index.*
The study found only 7 percent of brands regularly use recycled materials, 54 percent of companies use them for select items or product features, while 39 percent use no recycled materials.
Patagonia, Levi’s and The North Face reported scores of 8.50, 8.20 and 8.05 respectively, improving their performance over 2020. Some implementations propelled growth, including Patagonia’s equipment rental program and enhanced use of recycled fabrics. Levi’s improved its score largely through new rentals. It launched a rental-only capsule collection of up-cycled denim made with vintage jeans under the Ganni brand. The North Face slightly improved its share of recycled fabrics. Unlike Patagonia and Levi’s, The North Face has not engaged in rental services, currently available through third-party websites.
In its Top 10 global ranking, Esprit came fourth followed by OVS, Gucci, Gant, Coach, Lululemon Athletica, and Lindex.
The highest three newcomers tracked in this year’s ranking were Coach at #8, Lululemon #9 and Columbia Sportswear, which made it to the top quarter.
For the sports and outdoor segment, Lululemon ranked third, following Patagonia and The North Face. The other companies in this ranking were Columbia, Decathlon, New Balance, Adidas, Nike, Mizuno, and Merrell.
Kearney’s 2022 Circular Fashion Index measures fashion brands’ efforts toward extending the life cycle of clothes. The 2022 Index expanded on its previous studies. Kearney assessed 150 global brands representing 20 countries and six categories, including sports and outdoor, underwear and lingerie, luxury, premium/affordable luxury, mass market, and fast fashion. To learn more, go here.
