Caroline Brown of Closed Loop Partners spoke with Vogue Business in an interview entitled, “Donna Karan’s former CEO is fast-tracking fashion into the circular economy,” where she highlighted the work of Evrnu.
Excerpt: In her first interview since taking on the job, Brown tells Vogue Business that she sees supply chain transparency as an area rife with opportunity. “There are companies that are doing really interesting work with [Internet of Things] technologies and blockchain technologies to enable visibility of the entire product cycle, from ideation through to disposal,” she says.
Another priority is material science, as companies like Evrnu identify ways to bioengineer fibres with greater circularity in mind. Brown is also thinking about the importance of customers getting engaged in end-of-life garment management, citing how 87 per cent of apparel winds up in landfills though much of it could be recycled. “It’s been really interesting to merge that with some of the science side, and some of the innovation happening,” she says. “That’s really a merging of science and the commercial needs.”