Abstract
This report explores the possibilities of clothing that is regenerative by design—healing soil, ecosystems, and communities rather than depleting them. The impulse behind this research was to recognize the leverage that early design decisions have, which impact 80% of a product’s environmental footprint.¹ While the concept of regenerative design is currently evolving, this report explores it as an emerging movement that champions a multitude
of solutions—including the use of local, naturally dyed, compostable, and regeneratively grown textiles and designing for disassembly and long-term use. Regenerative design, however, is not a checklist or one-size-fits-all solution; it requires a whole-systems reorientation, recognizing that human practices, like design, can positively affect the natural and social world.
Regenerative clothing goes beyond sustainability; it is not about minimizing harm but rather actively maximizing positive impact on people and the planet. This report explores four levels of regenerative agriculture applied to clothing design:
Soil health
Crop rotation
Compost
Carbon sequestration
Ecosystem biodiversity
Agroecology
Interspecies relationships
Systemic transformation
Decolonizing design
Rethinking human-nature relations
Deep connection to place
Bioregional identity
Indigenous knowledge
Some barriers to regeneration include: lack of social support, knowledge gaps, loss of access to land, and inadequate economic transition aid for farmers committing to the long-term investments regenerative farming requires. However, organizations like Fibershed and Tula, as well as organizational cultures at brands like Patagonia emulate aspects of regenerative systems in practice. Moving forward, brands have a unique ability to lead by example and re-educate consumers by prioritizing transparency and challenging industry norms like overproduction.
Central to regenerative fashion and design is the recognition that the fashion industry is a living system with the capacity to restore and regenerate the health of our earth, our social body, and our human bodies through how we design the clothes we wear. It calls for the redesign of our materials, economies, and expectations. This report reveals how regenerative design is already underway: in the hands of Ghanaian seamstresses turning fabric scraps into dignity, in Indian farmers reviving pre-colonial cotton traditions, and in brands investing in the health of ecosystems—not just products and profits. The final sections explore some of the challenges and opportunities to bridge the transition gap as well as key action points for different stakeholders.
“I realized we can't recycle our way out of the textile waste crisis, but I actually have come to believe that if we stop it at the source—if we look at the design from the very beginning thinking with the end in mind—we can design our way out.”
Eileen Fisher Founder, EILEEN FISHER, INC.