Fleurieu Made is one of five brands chosen to represent the Australian Fashion Council at this year’s Fashion Instyle Expo in Hong Kong. 26 - 29 April 2025.
As I prepare for this exciting opportunity I am thinking about how to frame my findings. This blog is one of a number that I will publish as I discover more from suppliers and designers during the trip.
As the global fashion industry works to decouple growth from waste, circular fashion is gaining momentum. Yet in Asia, a region of immense cultural diversity, economic development and complex consumer behaviour, communicating circularity can sometimes be challenging.
While the principles of circular fashion (reuse, repair, recycle, redesign) offer powerful solutions to fashion’s waste crisis, they often challenge culturally embedded ideas around cleanliness, status, modernity and value. For instance, in Japan the social perception of used garments has historically clashed with high standards for hygiene and aesthetic perfection (Kusumoto, 2024). In China, fast fashion consumption is closely tied to aspirations of modernity and middle-class success (Chen et al., 2024). While in Vietnam, consumers are becoming more aware of sustainability, but cost and accessibility still dominate purchasing decisions (ICM Falk Foundation, 2023).
Given these cultural touchpoints, circular fashion communication in Asia must not only inform but translate and reframe, aligning sustainability goals with existing values, daily practices and policy directions.
Government Responses: Supporting Policy, Guiding Language
Governments across Asia have begun to integrate circular economy frameworks into their sustainability agendas with efforts influencing both business strategy and public messaging.
In Vietnam, the report Pathways to Circular Fashion in Vietnam outlines how the country’s textile-heavy economy is vulnerable to linear production risks, but also ripe for innovation (ICM Falk Foundation, 2023). The report recommends stakeholder alignment across government, education and industry, with a particular emphasis on the role of storytelling in shifting consumer mindsets.
ASEAN’s wider regional circular economy framework, explored by PwC Japan, stresses the need for culturally relevant narratives that localise global sustainability language. It suggests embedding circular principles into national identities, linking green consumption with patriotism, prosperity or community cohesion (PwC, 2023).
China is strengthening regulation around green claims. Its Circular Economy Promotion Law and recent advertising standards require proof of sustainability claims, reducing greenwashing and compelling brands to communicate verifiable impacts (Wikipedia, 2024)
Academic Insights: Culture Shapes Consumption
Academic literature confirms that sustainability messaging in fashion must be both credible and contextually appropriate.
Kusumoto et al. (2024), in a study of second-hand clothing markets in Japan, found low uptake despite high levels of environmental concern. The gap, they argue, stems from cultural discomfort with pre-worn clothing and a strong preference for novelty, requiring communicators to reframe second-hand as a smart, selective and even luxurious choice.
In China, Chen et al. (2024) studied young consumers and noted that fashion resale is more accepted when framed around practicality and convenience rather than ideology. This is echoed by Shi and Wang (2023), who found that social habit and routine and not environmental education alone, determine circular behaviour uptake.
Tran and Lee (2023) explored consumer attitudes in Vietnam and found that lower incomes and limited access to quality second-hand or remade goods hindered circular behaviours. Interestingly, when cost savings were highlighted, interest in second hand goods increased, demonstrating how value-driven storytelling could be adopted to increase adoption of these practices.
Finally, a cross-national study by Qureshi and colleagues (2023) argues that perceived personal benefit such as saving money or owning unique fashion pieces, is a more powerful motivator than ecological guilt or policy nudging, especially in developing contexts.
Conclusion: Reframing, Not Just Translating
For circular fashion communication to succeed in Asia, it must go beyond language translation. It must reframe values and engage local identities.
In Japan, invoking “mottainai” ( the cultural regret of waste) has the potential to bridge new practices with old wisdom. In China, aligning circular fashion with national ambitions for environmental leadership could encourage pride-led participation. In Vietnam, a economic message of empowerment through community-based remanufacturing could be successful.
Ultimately, fashion brands, policymakers and sustainability advocates must listen closely to local cultures, understand their codes and co-create narratives that are informative while maintaining emotional and social resonance.
If you would like to stay updated on the future of circular fashion innovation, subscribe to our newsletter or contact me directly.
My participation at the Fashion InSTYLE Expo was made possible by the kind support of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC)
and through the Australian Fashion Council
Professor Angelina Russo, PHD, MBAHEM
I am the Designer and Founder of Fleurieu Made. I was an academic for many years and a designer for more. I continue to write to make sense of the world in between knitting and building the business. Contact me at angelina@fleurieumade.com
References
Chen, R., Zhao, J., & Liu, Y. (2024). Consumer participation in China’s fashion resale market: A behavioural insight. Sustainability, 16(11), 4733. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/11/4733
ICM Falk Foundation. (2023). Pathways to Circular Fashion in Vietnam. https://www.icmfalkfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ICM-Pathways-to-Circular-Fashion-in-Vietnam-2023-min.pdf
Kusumoto, T., Watanabe, Y., & Ishii, N. (2024). Cultural perceptions of second-hand clothing in Japan: Barriers to adoption. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 26(2), 789–802. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10163-024-02091-6
PwC Japan. (2023). Sustainable growth and circular economy strategy in ASEAN. https://www.pwc.com/jp/en/knowledge/thoughtleadership/circular-economy-report.html
Qureshi, S., Lee, Y., & Lin, M. (2023). Consumer perceptions and drivers of circular fashion across Asia-Pacific. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 9, 100045. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784323000451
Shi, L., & Wang, D. (2023). Social practices and circular economy participation in urban China: A qualitative study. Sustainability Science, 18(4), 1121–1135.
Tran, H., & Lee, J. (2023). Bridging circular fashion and consumer culture in Vietnam: Value framing and accessibility. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Innovation, 5(1), 54–68.
Wikipedia. (2024). Greenwashing – China’s regulatory measures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing