This vision was shared in a Keynote Speech on the 202030 Summit in Sep. 2022.
The resources on our planet are finite, but our thirst for new fashion and looks is not.
In 2030, this is no longer a contradiction.
Intelligent technologies and investments have enabled us to scale businesses around pre-owned fashion items. Fashion items that are not made from virgin material, but represent an alternative to buying new things. Business models like Rent, ReCommerce, Upcycling, Marketplaces, and a vast variety of Secondhand Shops are accelerating.
In this regard, just imagine a day in the year 2030.
The doorbell rings and the delivery man comes to pick up fashion items you no longer need and you want to return to the brand that is responsible for manufacturing them. At the same time, you hand him your favorite sneaker that is in urgent need of repair.
You also give him the rented outfit you wore to the club last Saturday night. In return, he hands you your order of secondhand items and a vintage piece you swapped with someone on an App.
On the high street in your city, now every 3rd shop sells second-hand items, and many of them also accept items for sale on commission.
You can find a new cool upcycling store with a repair & care center in every neighborhood. Your and your friends' wardrobes now consist of rented, secondhand, repaired, and upcycled garments, and there is hardly any textile waste.
Imagine this new world also in terms of Urban Sourcing.
In the year of 2030 the way companies define sourcing and supply chains has completely changed. Companies compete for the items and clothes we no longer need or want. The race for our closets which started a decade ago has now reached its peak.
The ReCommerce department is a fixed business segment in every company. Take-back schemes are no longer seen as marketing activities, but as resources for tomorrow's fashion.
As consumers, we have endless options to choose who we want to give our discarded clothing to, and we even have the option of buying nothing at all. We have the freedom to think carefully about who offers us the best deal.
We here in this room will have successfully shaped that future.
Thank you for being here.