Rethinking Fashion’s Supply Chain for a Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy: Materials, Models, and Market Transformation

The global fashion industry, traditionally reliant on a linear, fossil-based, and growth-oriented production model, confronts a sustainability reckoning that challenges its very structure. This article offers a critically framed conceptual synthesis exploring the systemic transformation necessary to shift fashion toward a circular bioeconomy. It constructs and applies an integrated theoretical framework that synthesizes systems change theory 1, degrowth economics 2,3, and emotional durability 4 to present a comprehensive model for reimagining fashion through renewable materials, closed-loop business models, and socially equitable value chains. This model is analyzed through the lens of key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—especially SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)—to examine how fashion’s transition can become both regenerative and just. Through an analysis of illustrative case studies—including pioneering brands like Eileen Fisher, Stella McCartney, and Patagonia, alongside policy innovations such as the EU’s Digital Product Passport—this paper explores how sustainability is being operationalized at multiple scales. Critically, it interrogates the pervasive issues of technological solutionism, systemic greenwashing, and waste colonialism that threaten to undermine genuine progress. The article concludes by offering policy, industry, and academic recommendations designed to catalyze the deep, structural shifts required for a truly sustainable and equitable fashion future.