The problem is well-known, and the numbers staggering: 87% of total fibre input used for clothing is estimated to end in landfills or incinerators. Clothing underutilisation and a lack of recycling represent a loss of value of more than $500 billion annually, as calculated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Circular Fibres Initiative for A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future (2017). When the economy came to a halt during the lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19, an untold mass of unsold garments has been left stranded in stores, warehouses, ships and factories.

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