Thesis title: Sustainable Threads: Integrating Circular Economy Principles for Sustainable Development and Waste Reduction in the Luxury Fashion Industry
The circular economy (CE) is a system that aims to reduce waste and restore natural ecosystems by ensuring that materials are continuously used through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycling, and composting. By reducing the need for limited resources, this approach helps solve major global problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and too much waste.
Luxury fashion, an industry known for its large environmental impact, is under increasing pressure to adopt more sustainable practices. Circular economy principles—focusing on waste reduction, efficient resource use, and extending product life cycles—offer a way forward. This research explores how these principles are being integrated into the luxury fashion sector, with a focus on two key luxury fashion markets: Italy and France. These countries are home to some of the world’s most influential luxury brands, making them important players in the shift toward sustainable fashion.
Using a mixed-methods approach—including interviews, case studies, and data analysis—this study examines how luxury brands are adapting to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Findings reveal that Italian brands prioritize craftsmanship and material longevity, whereas French brands focus more on corporate sustainability governance and regulatory compliance. However, barriers such as high operational costs, supply chain complexity, and consumer reluctance toward circular luxury products continue to slow progress. It looks at the real impact of circular practices, the challenges of applying them, and the factors that help or slow down progress. With sustainability rules becoming stricter, especially under the European Taxonomy, luxury brands must find ways to meet new expectations while maintaining their identity and exclusivity.
This study provides practical insights into how circular economy strategies can be successfully used in luxury fashion. The findings highlight ways brands can reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and make their sustainability efforts fit with regulatory standards. Ultimately, this research offers concrete recommendations to help luxury fashion companies turn sustainability from an obligation into a competitive advantage, leading the industry toward a more responsible future.
Key words: circular economy, ESG, luxury fashion brands.