Danish fashion group Bestseller has launched Fashion FWD Lab, an experimental sustainability center in Bangladesh. The lab will focus on developing new, environmentally friendly materials and circular business models, as well as innovative production technologies.

Fashion FWD Lab partnered with GMS Composite Knitting, Bestseller’s largest jersey supplier in Bangladesh as per reports, Bangladesh was chosen because a significant portion of the Bestseller’s total production takes place in Bangladesh, with a focus on cotton.

According to Bestseller that the estimated amount of manufacturing waste in Bangladesh is 400,000 tons per year and that the country currently recycles less than five per cent of its waste domestically.

To develop the coveted new recycled yarns, Bestseller is working with Cyclo–a Bangladeshi recycled cotton fiber company whose mission is to responsibly recycle the hundreds of tons of cotton fabric discarded daily as trim waste. By eliminating the dyeing process, Cyclo uses a mechanical recycling process that shall reduce the amount of water, energy, chemicals and carbon emissions.

Another initiative that Bestseller joined in the early stages is the Circular Fashion Partnerships (CFP) launched by the Global Fashion Agenda. While the collaboration with Cyclo and GMS focuses on the immediate recycling of waste and its direct implementation in future collections, CFP works on a more structural level to implement effective waste stream structures.

Getting Bestseller's several fashion brands involved in these projects is one part of Fashion FWD Lab: So far, Bestseller brands Selected, Name It, and Vero Moda have been approved to participate in the long-running project. The first collections made from Bestseller's own waste will be ready in spring 2022.