New year, new fashion! Thankfully, 2022 promises to (hopefully) bring a dose of optimism in regards to style. Keep your eyes on this list as we make note of the best fashion news, collaborations, and launches happening this January.

Dive Brief:

• Direct-to-consumer underwear brand Parade expanded its sustainability efforts Tuesday by launching the first free recycling program for its category in the U.S., according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
• Through the new initiative, called Second Life by Parade, consumers can return as many pairs of gently used underwear as they want from any brand in exchange for a 20% Parade credit. To do so, they can request a Second Life by Parade package through the brand's website and receive a complimentary biodegradable bag and prepaid shipping label.
• Second Life by Parade aims to limit individuals' carbon footprint. Parade partnered with waste management firm TerraCycle for the initiative.

  Dive Insight:

  Parade joins several retailers in launching its own recycling program as pressure from both consumers and investors mount. Ulta, for instance, teamed up with Loop (a division of TerraCycle) last year on refillable packaging. Meanwhile, shaving brand Schick unveiled its first fully recyclable razor in March. Last year, Nike also launched its refurbishment program, which accepts returns for gently worn, like-new or imperfect shoes to be refurbished and resold at 15 stores. In Parade's program, all returned items will be recycled into new products such as insulation, furniture and bedding. "This launch provides consumers with the opportunity to responsibly recycle their used intimate apparel and ensure that it is diverted from the landfill," TerraCycle CEO and founder, Tom Szaky, said in a statement. "Together with Parade we are providing an end-to-end recycling program that will make it easier for consumers to mitigate their carbon footprint and have a positive impact on the environment for future generations." Parade is on its way to being carbon positive by 2025, per the release. The company also said it is the first intimates brand that has committed to climate action organization Science Based Targets Initiative to reduce its emissions. Parade's products are currently made from recycled fabrics and shipped using packaging that is recycled and recyclable. "We already create products out of sustainable materials, but we know that's only part of the challenge," Kerry Steib, head of impact and communications at Parade, said in a statement. "Second Life by Parade will help address the category's end-of-life problem by repurposing fabrics without using virgin materials."
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Parade, a hip underwear startup, will recycle your old underwear—from any brand—for free.

By Danielle Wightman-StoneJan 18, 2022

Inclusive underwear brand Parade is expanding its sustainability efforts with a free recycling programme in the US with international recycling leader, TerraCycle. ‘Second Life by Parade’ is a first-of-its-kind national recycling programme through TerraCycle for the underwear category, looking to divert unwanted underwear from landfill and help consumers reduce their carbon footprint. The initiative will allow Parade shoppers to recycle any brand of underwear by requesting a complimentary ‘Second Life by Parade’ package consisting of a biodegradable bag and a prepaid shipping label on the brand’s website. To further reduce the carbon footprint of the shipments, Parade is also recommending that shoppers send back as many pairs of underwear that will fit in the package, and in return, they will receive 20 percent Parade credit. Kerry Steib, head of impact and communications at Parade, said in a statement: “Second Life by Parade helps redefine sustainability on both a brand and consumer level. We already create products out of sustainable materials, but we know that’s only part of the challenge. Second Life by Parade will help address the category’s end-of-life problem by repurposing fabrics without using virgin materials.”

Parade teams up with TerraCycle to launch underwear recycling initiative in the US

All the underwear received in the ‘Second Life by Parade’ initiative will be recycled by TerraCycle into new products like insulation, furniture, and bedding. TerraCycle chief executive and founder Tom Szaky added: “This launch provides consumers with the opportunity to responsibly recycle their used intimate apparel and ensure that it is diverted from the landfill. “Together with Parade we are providing an end-to-end recycling program that will make it easier for consumers to mitigate their carbon footprint and have a positive impact on the environment for future generations.” Parade, which launched in 2019, is on track to become carbon positive by 2025 and is the first-ever intimates brand to commit to Science Based Targets Initiative. In addition, Parade utilises recycled fabrics in its products and ships via recycled and recyclable packaging and donates 1 percent of its profits to several charitable organisations.

Did you know that 91% of the plastic produced has never been recycled? Yet calls to eliminate single-use plastics lost their force in the initial panic of the pandemic and the rush to secure personal protective equipment (PPE). As we get ready to end our second year of COVID-19, we have learned a lot, yet it is still common to see discarded PPE littering the landscape. Many of these items — including disposable masks, gloves, and antibacterial wipes — are designed for one-time use. Unfortunately, so many people improperly dispose of PPE that we are experiencing a “plastic pandemic” on our streets, public transport, green spaces, and beaches, according to the Alliance to End Plastic Waste’s Jacob Duer. Improperly discarded PPE contributes to the overwhelming plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Here’s why this is a problem and what you and your community can do to reduce PPE waste.

The Problem: PPE in Our Oceans

Gary Stokes, the founder of marine conservation group OceansAsia, reported collecting 70 masks along 100 yards of beach near Hong Kong during a trip to the uninhabited Soko Islands in February when the pandemic had only just begun. Here’s how they got there: When we don’t throw waste into a secure garbage can, wind can blow it into the gutter where it mixes with rainwater and is washed out to the rivers and sea. From there, it washes to near and far shores. Marine animals like turtles and fish often mistake this waste for food. Ingesting it can lead to a slow and painful death. And plastic waste, like gloves, never fully degrades in water. Instead, it breaks into smaller pieces called microplastics. Plastics are, pun intended, a mixed bag. Today, many consider them a necessary evil: Masks are proven to slow the spread of COVID-19, and when we don’t wear them correctly, more people become sick, hospitals use more resources, and we create more waste. Worldwide, we are using an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves each month.

What We Can Do to Reduce PPE Waste

Due to both material and contamination issues, single-use PPE can’t be recycled in your curbside bin (but check out TerraCycle’s paid options for recycling disposable gloves). With minimal options for recycling disposable PPE, we must use less of it and dispose of what we use correctly and safely.

Avoid Single-Use PPE When Possible

The CDC website offers guidance for selecting, wearing, and caring for your cloth mask correctly. Make sure it fits properly and consists of two or more layers of fabric. To keep yourself and others safe, launder your reusable mask regularly. Wash your hands frequently, for at least 20 seconds each time, instead of using plastic gloves or hand sanitizer. Hot water and soap are the best way to prevent the spread of infection.

Discard Single-Use PPE Safely

Disposing of PPE improperly puts essential workers and your neighbors at risk of getting infected. Take an extra step to protect them before placing your masks, gloves, and wipes in the trash. Use a reusable bag that can be sealed to store used PPE while on the go and dispose of it in your home garbage bin, sealing the bag before pickup.

Make It Easier to Properly Dispose of PPE

Businesses can use behavioral insights to combat PPE litter and “[make] trash cans convenient and conspicuous by tracing a path to them with green foot-step stickers, or [place] more of them in a given area” where people commonly remove PPE.

Use Educational Messaging

People respond well to motivational messaging and concrete calls to action in PPE disposal areas. Research has found that “emphasizing people’s duty to protect frontline workers can be effective.”

Enforce Littering Fines

Municipalities in Massachusetts and New York have imposed hefty fines on PPE littering, yet the threat is not enough to stop bad behavior when fines are not enforced. The best road may be to combine existing fines with educational campaigns to mobilize the public and create a collaborative rather than punishing atmosphere. Of course, we don’t need fines if everyone does their part. Dispose of used PPE responsibly to avoid contaminating others and for the sake of our oceans. Remember, we’re all in this together.

Climate change and COVID-19 have been the fashion wake-up call we all needed. People are catching wind of how dirty the fashion industry is and are gladly waving goodbye to fast fashion and inviting sustainable staples to establish a permanent presence in their lives. Professional women across the world are taking a 360 view of their closets and leaning toward the brands that place sustainability at the forefront of their missions. Consumers are no longer looking at brand names and elite status, rather, they're diving deeper into the companies values, mission, and environmental impact. Today, more than ever, we are focused on the action items companies are taking to continuously push the limits of innovation and a cleaner future. Here are four ways companies are leveling up their sustainability initiatives.

1) Transparency.

Congratulations, each and every one of you has front row seats to today’s transparency race. Grab your popcorn and bloody Mary, because companies are off to the races. Brands are leading with transparency for customers to feel confident in what they are buying, where it comes from, and under what social, economic, and environmental conditions it’s being produced. Everlane is a pioneer and leader of sustainability with their bold slogan “radical transparency.” They weave transparency into every aspect of their business model, sharing the true cost behind all of their products, from material, to labor, to transportation. Just like dating, customers are establishing a new level of trust with companies intertwining transparency into the brands DNA and communicating openly in a way that feels like a personalized, 1:1 conversation.

2) Circular thinking.

The future of fashion is circular, and I am not talking about your high school geometry class. Circular fashion is a system when the production of an item and the end of the item's life are equally as important. Circular fashion is the perfect collision of sustainability and circular economy. It all starts with manufacturing and pushing the limits of longevity and timelessness. Then focusing on materials used and whether or not they are sustainable. Once the customer has decided they no longer need or want the product, rather than trashing the item, the item will be repaired, re-designed, swapped, or sold second-hand. Consider this product to have a second, third, and even fourth life. Take for example, Thousand Fell shoes. They take a material-first approach ensuing materials used can biodegradable or recycled. They have also established a partnership with TerraCycle so unwanted shoes can be broken down into recycled raw materials to be used to create new shoes. Since these materials are not being sent to a landfill, Thousand Fell is creating a circular model so materials can be used and reused continuously. [Relate: Four Steps to Building a Sustainable, Successful, Soul-Driven Business]

3) Resale.

This is an element of circular fashion that is changing how we are approaching shopping habits and rate of consumption. Secondhand style sector has only amplified from the pandemic, and the luxury market is hopping on this surge. It's become every woman’s dream to get their hands on designer styles for a reasonable buy in rate. Today, brands are beginning to introduce resale programs to their customers. Gucci has partnered with The Real Real and the largest luxury names to support second hand. This partnership has allowed Gucci to win over a younger demographic and give the younger generation an entry point into a taste for luxury at an affordable price.

4) Developing textile innovations.

With a sense of urgency to reduce the textile industries environmental impact, designers are gravitating toward innovative materials that will change the way your clothes are made. While coffee, pineapple, and bananas sound like items you would find at your resort vacation’s breakfast, they are in fact natural resources that are used to create fabrics that are shaking up the textile industry. Rather than throwing away coffee grounds, coffee ground fibers can be used to make performance wear with anti-odor qualities, UV ray protection, and quick drying time. Coffee grounds' second life embracing circular thinking. Sustainability has brought a wave of knowledge, advocacy, and innovation to the fashion space. From businesses rethinking their product offering and customers re-thinking their purchasing habits, the future of fashion is certainly changing for the better. As we collectively move forward with a conscious consumption mindset, circularity will be a big part of the future of fashion.