RE-kin-DLE

The first series of garments was remanufactured by transforming kin Studio kidswear into women’s garments. These items, originally part of mismatched sets at the end of the season, still maintained the high-quality standards of the kin brand, including Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) cotton, Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) production in India, and artisanal details like hand pin-tucks. The redesign process was systematically developed and documented to enable replication through standardised manufacturing processes. This reduced time-consuming interventions such as unpicking and recutting, and created templates for scalability, including assessment criteria and costings (see examples attached at end of application).

The second series of garments utilised excess stock from Country Road, building on the templates and systems developed at kin Studio. These garments were chosen based on identifiable flaws that hindered sales, as indicated by online and in-store feedback. Various techniques were employed, including overdyeing, printing, laser cutting, and dis/reassembly (see example of process diagrams attached at end of application). The redesign process aimed to enhance the capacity within the Country Road team to develop circular strategies. This involved collaboration with their production, design, and marketing teams to coordinate the rollout of this pilot project.

The redesign process across both series of RE-kin-DLE garments showcases the flexibility and creative potential of remanufacturing through customised design solutions tailored to each garment and context. This approach meets the stringent design standards of both a small studio practice and a large-scale business. By developing remanufactured garments that are indistinguishable from conventionally produced ones, the project aims to provide a seamless experience for the brand, retailer and customer. Additionally, it transparently communicates the design and production process to customers, via a postcard tag, and sought feedback via the retailer to assess public perceptions around remanufacturing.

The redesign process addressed the identified flaws on garments that were priced below cost at the Country Road outlet stores, allowing the new garments to be priced at or above their original retail price. This sets an important benchmark for the potential of design to improve existing garment stock through targeted remanufacturing processes. The project tested solutions ranging in complexity and cost, from low-cost options like overdyeing cotton shirts to high-cost options like laser cutting leather.

Onshore remanufacturing, despite its higher costs, offers advantages such as shorter lead times, low minimum quantities, and high-quality standards. This approach presents an opportunity to redesign stock before it is discounted, potentially reducing losses and reliance on high volumes for financial returns. By reharnessing value from this pre-consumer textile waste stream, the project has the potential to reduce the use of raw materials by offsetting conventionally produced garments with remanufactured ones.

Internationally, particularly in Northern Europe, circular fashion production systems are facilitated through legislation. As Australia transitions from the voluntary product stewardship scheme ‘Seamless’, introduced in July 2024, to mandatory regulation of textile waste, it will be crucial for the industry to demonstrate the capacity to incorporate circular strategies into their systems.

This project uses remanufacturing as an alternative fashion production method that is decoupled from raw material use. By engaging with a range of garment types and production methods, the project utilised design as a problem-solving tool to reharness the value of unsold stock. This can divert textiles from the waste stream and alleviate pressure on the recycling industry’s struggle with rapidly increasing volumes.

Remanufacturing differs from upcycling in terms of scale, where upcycling is typically practiced in the context of artisanal production with low volumes and mostly one-offs. Due to the labour intensive nature of remanufacturing, this project carefully considered the extent of interventions on garments to balance investment and usability. A range of interventions were explored to determine the ideal level of investment needed to enhance the garments’ appeal and functionality.

Collaborating with local manufacturers, the project developed remanufacturing approaches that aligned with existing workflows and methods. This alignment was crucial for ensuring the financial and technical viability of the remanufacturing. The first round of garments, redesigned 5 garments from kin Studio stock, was sold through a boutique retailer and received a positive response, with rapid sell-through. Customers showed strong interest in circular production and were willing to invest in sustainable garments, especially due to them being limited edition and of high quality.

The overall outcome of this project put into practice some of the key requirements for circularity: collaboration, capacity building and adaptability. Circular strategies cannot rely on one-size-fits-all solutions and need to be developed within the context of individual businesses. Remanufacturing can reduce textile waste and the overall consumption of raw materials when implemented alongside designing for longevity, and lifecycle extension strategies such as reuse and repair.

The project responds to the limitations of current recycling efforts, which address only around 2% of textile waste globally. Due to the complexity of garments and mixed fibres, recycling remains a challenging proposition and most textile waste is either landfilled or exported. In Australia there are few onshore solutions and limited initiatives by brands to manage their own excess stock. By demonstrating a pathway for reusing existing garments, this project seeks to offer a precedent for improved resource management.

This project uses a design-led approach to reduce fashion overproduction while using existing manufacturing technologies. It also demonstrates the adaptability of remanufacturing approaches , which can meet the evolving needs and desire for change in the same way that conventional production can. Establishing design practices that meet both these local needs and manage textile waste onshore could redefine the Australian fashion ecosystem.

Australia is among the highest per capita consumers of clothing, yet most of this estimated volume of 1,458,000,000 garments per year is produced offshore by brands that have no local manufacturing footprint. Finding local pathways for remanufacturing is an important issue to resolve, since shipping unsold stock to offshore factories is inefficient due to dispersed supply chains.

Victoria retains more garment production capacity than any other state in Australia, making it uniquely positioned to become a hub for remanufacturing and be a world leader in circular textile initiatives.

The RE-kin-DLE project focuses not on individual design outcomes but on the potential of remanufacturing as a viable and design-led approach to reduce the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. It explores this approach in all its facets within the context of Victoria and positions it within the larger framework of circularity.

It is important to note that remanufacturing pre-consumer waste by brands themselves presents fewer challenges compared to the unpredictable and much larger waste stream of post-consumer waste, such as used clothing. Remanufacturing post-consumer waste involves navigating complex logistics for sorting and collecting, dealing with inconsistencies in quality, and the uncertainty of garment fibre content.

Testing strategies within the brands own production systems to effectively address pre-consumer waste, could serve as a stepping stone towards expanding remanufacturing efforts to more challenging textile waste streams.

As circularity gains momentum as a framework for sustainability, it becomes increasingly important to test circular strategies at scale throughout the lifecycle of garments.

Remanufacturing is already well-established in industries like automotive, where parts are remade to be equivalent to new options. However, fashion presents a unique challenge, as customer expectations drive a constant need for innovation and change, necessitating more extensive design interventions. While challenging, this scenario offers exciting opportunities for fashion businesses to apply design-led interventions to existing garment stock, viewing these items as valuable building blocks rather than waste. By doing so, they can enhance sustainability while meeting the evolving demands of their communities.