Repair, Resell, Relove: India’s Circular Fashion Era
Circular fashion, once a niche concept in India, is now gaining traction as direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands embrace sustainability. Bengaluru-based menswear brand Snitch exemplifies this shift by integrating the sustainable fashion platform Relove into its operations. This partnership allows customers to resell and purchase authenticated pre-owned Snitch garments, marking a significant step towards a circular economy. Similarly, One Less is exploring a buy-back scheme to promote a closed-loop system. These initiatives reflect a growing trend among Indian brands to adopt circular practices.
The Circular Fashion Landscape
India’s circular fashion market, projected to grow from $272.51 million in 2024 to $1.6 billion by 2033, faces challenges in scaling. While brands are experimenting with take-back programs and pre-owned collections, these efforts often remain limited to pilot projects. The consumer base, particularly Gen Z, is showing interest in circular fashion due to its alignment with thrifting and value-conscious buying. However, concerns around trust, hygiene, and quality persist.
According to Amar Nagaram, cofounder and CEO of VIRGIO, the momentum in circular fashion is largely driven by third-party recommerce and thrift-led resale rather than brand-integrated models. This highlights the fragmented nature of the current landscape, where platforms rather than brands are leading the charge.
The Circular Versus Sustainable Debate
In India, the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘circular’ fashion are often used interchangeably, but they represent different concepts. Sustainable fashion focuses on the production process, emphasizing better fabrics and ethical sourcing. Circular fashion, however, is concerned with the post-production lifecycle, including reuse, resale, repair, and recycling.
While India has seen a rise in sustainable D2C brands, circularity requires ongoing brand involvement beyond the initial sale. This involves creating systems for returns, resale, and refurbishment, which are complex to implement. Resale currently offers the most viable entry point due to its alignment with digital consumer behavior and lower operational investment.
Circular Fashion’s Real Inflexion Point
The real opportunity for scaling circular fashion lies in resale, repair, refurbishment, and organized reverse logistics. According to Mani Singhal, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, the focus should be on building commercially viable pathways to extend product life and recover value.
For circularity to become mainstream, it must be economically viable across the value chain, not just a sustainability narrative. Brands need to see circularity as a means to improve inventory productivity and customer engagement. Stronger trust mechanisms, improved logistics, and product design focused on longevity are essential for this transition.
As India’s circular fashion sector evolves, the challenge remains to achieve scalability. The movement is in its early stages, but with the right infrastructure and economic incentives, circular fashion could become a standard practice in the industry.
