Closing the Loop: A Pilot Study on Circular Feedstock in the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is among the most environmentally harmful sectors due to intensive resource consumption, overproduction, and waste generation.Circularity is emerging as a framework to rethink fashion systems, with materials acting both as environmental burdens and regenerative assets.This study is part of the PNRR-funded FasT4C project, which develops and tests a cradle-to-cradle, design-driven approach through Industry 4.0 technologies.FasT4C highlights the strategic role of process design in innovation across the Made in Italy value chain, from prototyping to end-of-life, supporting sustainable and circular processes.Focusing on the material dimension, the paper presents the pilot Sustainable Fabrication from Circular Feedstock, which investigates reintegration of textile waste into production using non-linear manufacturing methods, including technological and biobased solutions.By reframing waste as a resource, the project promotes design-led sustainable practices and opens new pathways for resilient circular models in the fashion industry.