Making luxury fashion history with our Close-the-Loop Parka
Launched as part of the Spring 2023 collection, the Stella McCartney Close-the-Loop Parka is the luxury fashion industry’s first-ever circular garment to ‘close the loop’. It is made from regenerated and regenerable materials that we will take back, and will be fully recycled into new textiles – another step towards making our Stella vision a reality.
When it comes to disposing of society’s garments, 87% of total fibre input used in clothing is eventually incinerated or disposed of in landfill – with currently only 1% of materials recycled back into new pieces (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). This has detrimental consequences for Mother Earth, and the creatures and communities we share her with. Additionally, textiles account for approximately 9% of annual microplastics entering the oceans (UN Fashion Alliance).
About the Close-the-Loop Parka
Crafted with ECONYL® nylon, this parka is the first Stella McCartney product that our teams and suppliers have collaboratively designed for disassembly – meaning zero trace of our jacket will end up in landfill, incinerators or oceans if returned through our take-back scheme.
ECONYL® is 100% regenerated nylon from pre- and post-consumer waste that would otherwise be polluting the Earth, like fishing nets, fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic.
The entire jacket is made from this infinitely regenerable material – able to be repurposed into new yarns and redesigned, over and over again. We have even removed our iconic chain hanging loop to ensure no trace of the jacket cannot be recycled in our system.
How does it work?
The Close-the-Loop Parka is designed to be loved forever: the most sustainable choice is to cherish your product for as long as possible. We also recommend:
- Spot cleaning
- Repairing if and when necessary
- Lend, borrow and sharing with your loved ones.
When your parka is truly exhausted and cannot be loved any longer, you can return it to us* and we will take care of the rest. For every Close-the-Loop Parka sold, we are planting a mangrove tree in partnership with Sustainable Surf’s SeaTrees initiative. Another mangrove tree will be planted when your parka is returned.
*Discover more about the take-back scheme.
Our nature-positive mission
SeaTrees plant and protect mangrove forest ecosystems in the Biak Island Region of West Papua Indonesia, contributing to the restoration of this vital ecosystem – one of the most biodiverse on Earth. It was previously highly degraded by human activities, with 75% of the island’s estuaries deforested.
Mangroves sequester 5-10 times more CO2 out of the atmosphere per hectare than tropic rainforests. Much of that carbon is stored in the soil and sediment that make up a mangrove ecosystem.
In our Stella vision, all materials will be created using regenerative systems to restore our planet or use ‘close-the-loop' circular materials – crafted from waste and designed to never become waste again.
It is our hope that all materials can, one day, biodegrade harmlessly or be captured and recycled infinitely.