Breaking into Sustainable Fashion: Insights from Circularity Textiles Expert Charlotte Genge

Nov 14

Written by: Rebekah Stokes, Communications Assistant @Threading Change

November 14th, 2024

[5-minute read]

From consulting on research for the Association for Textile Recycling, project managing for the National Association for Charitable Textile Recycling (NACTR), founding The Great Halifax Clothing Swap, and co-founding By The Pound Thrift, as well as founding and running EnsembleCo Consulting Services, Charlotte Genge continues to impact and innovate within the clothing reuse industry. I had a chance to chat with her about her perspective on circularity and the reuse industry, the steps we need to take to move circularity forward in Canada, the “radical” concept of swaps and her tips for breaking into the sustainable fashion industry.

RS: By way of introduction, you hold a large variety of roles. You're a Research Consultant and Project Manager for NACTR, founder of Great Halifax Clothing Swap and co-founder of By the Pound Thrift. What does a typical workday look like for you? How are you balancing all of this?

Charlotte Genge: Luckily, having a project management background, I am pretty good at prioritizing and breaking down tasks. So a typical day is just that, a mix of project management, and research. I'm involved in a big research project right now, so I spend a fair bit of my day doing that. And then, community engagement, planning events, like the Great Halifax Clothing Swap or By the Pound Thrift. And I'm also a marketing consultant for B2B tech SaaS clients, software as a service. That's part of why I love what I do, my days are pretty varied because as you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a generalist.

RS: Very cool. And the research project you're working on, is that something you can talk about right now?

Charlotte: The ink is not quite dry on it, but I will say that it does have to do with textile recycling. And you'll hear more about it very, very soon.

RS: Exciting! We'll look forward to it. What inspired you to focus on circularity and pre-loved textiles in the first place?

Charlotte Genge: It's funny because it wasn't an area that I saw myself pursuing a career in for a long time, mostly because it just grew out of my love for thrifting. I just loved secondhand clothing. I was a theater nerd, so I loved costumes and wacky clothing. But then I went on to start planning clothing swaps and doing community engagement. I started figuring out how big a problem textile waste actually was, the role of reuse, and how we're just not there yet with some of the recycling technologies. It started to really pique my interest and I found I had a passion for it. Then I was finding that through my research background, I was able to get paid to research thrifting. I remember the day I realized, “Oh my god, I can actually research thrifting and interview thrift store owners!” It was such a light bulb moment and a really happy one. It's not a job that pays the bills full time yet, but I have more and more happening in the space, which I'm really happy about.

RS: And there's more and more happening in the space in general, more recognition of this as a viable career and space to be working in.

Charlotte Genge: Absolutely. When I started out researching in this space, about five years ago, it was very much twenty years behind. Now what I'm noticing is that it's not like that anymore. It's catching up quickly because there's so much more happening and people are taking interest. The environmental imperative now is so much greater and so much more widespread. So it's really exciting to be a part of it.

RS: When you talk about being five years behind, is that on a technology basis or a policy level?

Charlotte Genge: A technology adoption basis and an innovation basis. People are starting to take on the cause and find solutions, but there's nothing at scale really. We're still at the beginning of figuring out, “How can we make this happen?” It’s good that that's happening now. For a long time, it felt like no one was really thinking about what happened to clothes at their end of life or once they weren’t sold on a thrift store floor. Nobody was addressing that point in the life cycle. It was just swept under the rug and forgotten about, shipped overseas.

RS: As far as stakeholders involved in making this movement happen, who are they? Is it the government through policy, your average everyday person, industry or all of the above?

Charlotte Genge: So much depends on policy and regulation. There's a lot we can try and do just through the education piece, engaging the public and encouraging them to change consumption habits. We can let them know that it's possible to do that. But at the end of the day, you can't place the blame on the consumer. It's about regulating the whole industry and the whole life cycle of garments.

RS: When you are in the circular fashion space and talking about pre-loved textiles, what are some of the biggest misconceptions you come across?

Charlotte Genge: People think that circular fashion is just about recycling. But it's so much more than that. It's about designing out waste from the start. It's a whole system approach, from design, to use, to end of life solutions. Another misconception is that circularity is only for big brands or niche markets. In reality, it is, and should be, accessible to everyone, especially through the resale market and that kind of thing.

RS: We're seeing more and more companies and ideas coming out around resale. Are there any exciting innovations you're seeing in that space?

Charlotte Genge: There's a lot of really exciting things. There's so many different online business models cropping up in this space. There's new technologies in terms of product passports. There's obviously recycling innovations coming about and there's smaller players getting involved doing upcycling and that kind of thing in the resale sphere.

RS: On the topic of digital project passports, as they are coming to be mandatory in Europe, how do you see technologies like that shifting things? Do you think they are something we'll see in Canada?

Charlotte Genge: I hope it's something that's widely adopted. [Product passports] are a game changer for transparency. They will embed detailed information about a product's origins, materials, production process, the types of chemicals used and end of life options. That is going to not only make it possible to make a more informed choice, but also make it easy to sort.

Sorting is a big cost suck and, by and large, not very automated. There's a human element to it. These fabric blends, for example, they're very hard to recycle, so they need to be sorted out. Products with a lot of inclusions like sequins, need to be sorted out before they're sent to recycling. Everything needs to be sorted by fiber or for particular recycling processes, unless it's all being shredded. But [product passports] are a big unlock for sorting and for that stage.

RS: As far as reuse versus recycling with circularity, do you see these working hand in hand?

Charlotte Genge: Definitely. Reuse keeps items in circulation longer, which is amazing because it's the highest value point. It's preserving the value of the items. They can be used for longer and they can stay out of landfill. After they do reach the end of life, that's when recycling should come into play. The goal is to keep everything in use in circulation for as long as possible. We want to get as much value as we possibly can from the resources that have already been used to create and deliver this product. So, use it up. Then when it's actually at the end of its life, that's when it should then be sent for recycling. Preferably it would then be recycled into a new fiber to create a new garment or something like that.

RS: Based on your experience with swaps, what materials do you see being best suited for the circular model?

Charlotte Genge: Natural fibers, they break down more easily than products or fibers derived from fossil fuels do. So fibers like cotton, linen, wool, they're generally better suited for circularity because they biodegrade more easily. They can also often be repaired or repurposed without losing quality. Fabric blends can be hard to treat and they also can gum up mechanical recycling machines. As I mentioned, items that have a lot of inclusions are also hard to deal with.

Denim's a good material as well. It's cotton, but it's sturdy and it can be repurposed into new items easily. Synthetic fibers are more challenging. They don't break down. They don't biodegrade, and they often shed microplastics, so they're not ideal. There's emerging technologies for recycling synthetics like polyester, but overall, materials that can be repaired, re-dyed or repurposed are ideal for circularity.

RS: It often feels like we have to choose between environmental and economic gains when talking about circular, sustainable fashion. How do initiatives like clothing swaps create space for both environmental sustainability and the local economy to thrive?

Charlotte Genge: The beautiful thing about clothing swaps and local, community-led reuse initiatives are that they support both. They extend the life of garments, spread awareness, and reduce the need for new production, which cuts down on the environmental costs. We're also encouraging people to participate in the circular economy. So it's making it easy and affordable. That's what people need. They need the sustainable option to be the most convenient and affordable option as well. Otherwise, it's never going to be adopted at a mass scale. That is a great part of those types of events.

At the same time, swaps foster a local economic activity, as does repair. People participate and then local business and repair shops also thrive. The light bulb that goes on when people come to a swap and realize, “Oh, wow, this is a different way to do things.” It's radical in a way because we're so conditioned to the typical capitalist approach of go out and consume - shopping is basically a national pastime.

That's the mentality we live in and we're so used to that. But then the realization that you can actually share and trade with your community and not spend a dollar is truly novel. We do charge a door fee to cover all of our expenses at the Great Halifax Clothing Swap, but people are like, “What? It's only $15 and I can take as much as I need?” They don't believe me and you see this light bulb go on. It's truly joyful to watch because I'm introducing them to a whole new way of thinking. You can be so involved in a way of thinking that it can be hard to see outside of that at all. It’s the same for anyone, you have habits and the way you do things and the more you do things that way, the more solidified those habits become. I think that's just where we're at with capitalism. We have to be reminded this [capitalism] isn't necessarily the only way things can be done.

RS: It is, as you say, a radical way of approaching the idea of community and coming together. Because it is such a mindset shift for people, what are some resources or tools that you would recommend for someone if they're looking to foster this in their own community?

Charlotte Genge: There's one really good resource and it was commissioned by the National Association for Charitable Textile Recycling and written by the Share Reuse Repair Initiative out of British Columbia. It's called the Community Lead Reuse Initiatives Toolkit. In it, there are step-by-step instructions for how to plan a clothing swap or a community yard sale or a neighborhood yard sale. There’s even university events in there. And then, just starting with the community engagement piece. Social media is a great place to start organizing, promoting and connecting with people. You can partner with local businesses or other people interested in planning it with you, so you don't have to do it alone. People are your greatest resource, but there are also those online resources. You can just Google it too, because there are lots of tools out there.

RS: How do you see the industry adjusting on issues of scale when it comes to circularity. Is the solution to keep it local or can we realistically create larger scale change with the circular model?

Charlotte Genge: I think localized solutions are key for educating the broader public. That’s especially with swaps and events and things like that. When you can get people to come out and participate, [swaps] can drive big change and help people think differently about their consumption habits.

However, global brands also need to implement circularity on a larger scale by adopting better materials systems. We've already mentioned that regulation is what we need to really incentivize or force this shift amongst brands, producers, and even right back to agriculture, producing materials. So I think regulation is obviously the biggest one that's going to help with scale and is going to incentivize that growth. But the local events are really good for helping with awareness around consumption habits and helping to change them.

RS: Do you have any advice for young people trying to break into sustainable circular fashion?

Charlotte Genge: Stay curious, learn what you can, talk to people. This is not that big of a space, you can meet a lot of the people that are doing the work and talk to them. So start small, get involved with local initiatives too, like, swaps or thrift events, markets. Focus on that education piece as well, learn about the environmental impacts and share that knowledge with others. And as I mentioned, network within the industry - LinkedIn's really good for that.

RS: So great to chat with you, thanks so much for your time.

Charlotte Genge: Thanks for having me!

If you want to learn more about Charlotte’s incredible work in the industry and get connected, you can find her on LinkedIn and Instagram (@clothingreincarnated) or on the Great Halifax Clothing Swap website: https://www.greatswap.ca.

Interested in participating in or hosting a swap in your own community? Check out Threading Change’s swap opportunities on our website!

Edited by: Luiza Giocondo Teixeira, Communications & Engagement Director @Threading Change