So sustainability and circularity become a competitive advantage for companies

It is not just a feeling: after years of full prominence in the fashion industry's narrative, sustainability is now talked about much less. If it happens, it is certainly because of the general uncertainty in the global economy, which leads companies to focus more on operational efficiency and cost control. But there is also a reason that could be described as positive: "Sustainability and circularity have become an integral part of companies, and are no longer part of a narrative or a legal obligation, but fuel a real competitive advantage," explains Francesca Romana Rinaldi, director of the Monitor for Circular Fashion at Sda Bocconi.

Francesca Romana Rinaldi, direttrice del Monitor for Circular Fashion, alla presentazione del report 2025/2026 a Milano

For the past five years, this observatory has been measuring the effectiveness of the circularity strategies of 27 companies in the sector, which involve a total of around 100,000 employees and had a turnover of EUR 28 billion in 2024, in order to help create a broader and more effective culture on circularity itself. The results of the Monitor 2025/26, presented yesterday at an event at the university's headquarters in Milan, confirmed this paradigm shift, examining obstacles and opportunities, starting with the role of the artificial-intelligence: "For companies, it is among the technologies with the greatest potential for growth," explains Rinaldi, "thanks above all to its ability to process large quantities of data along the value chain, to improve production forecasts and thus make it more efficient, minimising surpluses and the risk of unsold goods, which, moreover, from next July for large companies will be prohibited from destroying. The Ia will also support supply chain management, making it possible to map suppliers better, but also design, helping in the choice of materials and the assessment of their environmental impact and durability'.

Sustainability of materials is another major theme in the ongoing evolution: 'It has to concern the entire life cycle and is systemic, i.e. it concerns the entire infrastructure that is formed, for example, around a fibre,' he continues. 'Our suggestion is to choose according to the function a product will have, the occasions in which it will be used and for how long.

In an industry that, also by virtue of the new European regulations, will have to make more and more use of 'second raw material', i.e. from recycling or recovery, there is the problem of quantities, which are still too limited today: 'Today in Italia there are no plants capable of handling the required quantities, European projects will have to be made,' he adds. Among the urgencies pointed out by the Monitor's companies is the urgent need to invest in upskilling and reskilling oriented towards green and digital skills, especially for SMEs, which form the backbone of the Italian fashion system and which often lack the know-how and capital necessary for the transition: 'According to Cna-Federmoda, between 2009 and 2014, 33,000 companies closed down, most of them artisan companies,' adds Rinaldi. To prevent them from declining further, it is necessary to promote collaborative financing mechanisms and risk-sharing strategies that distribute the weight of investments along the supply chain'.

2026, emphasises the Monitor, will also be the year of product life extension, which will rewrite the value model: 'After-sales services, therefore especially repair and resale, are indicated by companies as the business models with the greatest potential,' he continues. Consumers will be retained not so much by the continuous, and by now unsustainable, proposal of new products, but by a progressive servitisation offered by brands: 'Unlike in some European countries, where urban repair centres are already active, in Italia there are still no industrial-level repair centres. This too is a channel that should certainly be implemented'. Further proof that sustainability and circularity are finally able to create innovation and value.