Shaping The Future Of Fashion With Gemma Metheringham

Could you tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?

My name is Gemma Metheringham, also known as The Elephant in my Wardrobe after the Instagram feed I started in 2020 to challenge throwaway fashion and understand what we, as individuals, can do to reduce the environmental impact of our wardrobes. The conversations I started on instagram led me to quit my job and return to college. I completed the MA Fashion Futures at London College of Fashion in January and started a PHD at Nottingham Trent last week and my academic work explores how the growing secondhand fashion market can become a lever that reduces the fashion industry’s carbon emissions.

To share what I’m learning, I curate and host a series of panel discussions with secondhand pioneers, innovators and enthusiasts asking “if fashion’s future is secondhand?” and I write, lecture and consult on circular business models, sustainable consumption and reducing fashion’s carbon emissions.

How has your relationship with fashion changed over the years?

A lot! I’ve always loved fashion, trained as a designer and worked as a Creative Director in the fashion industry for over 30 years. In that time fast fashion trends and production, globalisation, online retailing, discounting and digital marketing have changed both the fashion industry and how we all shop. When I started The Elephant in my Wardrobe I was fed up with fashion and yet I was shopping all the time to try and keep up with all the new trends and seasonal must have items dropping in my inbox every day! It was exhausting and really expensive and clearly unsustainable for me, and the planet!

Since 2020 I’ve reduced my personal clothes shopping by 75% and I always try to choose secondhand first. It’s not always been easy, in fact I’ve realised I was probably addicted to a constant flow of new stuff. But the good news is that stepping away from trends, deleting all those marketing emails and shopping secondhand means I have a much better sense of my own style, I get a lot more compliments on what I wear and I’ve saved a lot of money.

What does circular fashion mean to you, and how would you explain it to someone who’s never heard of it?

Put simply it’s about wearing the clothes that have already been made for as long as possible. That might mean if one person wears them lots - or more probably nowadays - it means lots of people might own them and wear them as they’re bought and resold on the secondary market. But resale alone isn’t circular; what’s important is that when we can’t wear them anymore, wherever possible we try and alter or repair them so we can keep wearing them, and then when we can’t wear them anymore we recycle them into new clothes or biodegrade them to nourish the soil.

Circularity matters because about 70% of fashion’s carbon emissions happen during the different processes involved in making fibres, fabrics and finished garments and the easiest way to make fashion more sustainable is making fewer new clothes and reusing what we already have.

How do you think the growth of secondhand fashion can help reduce the fashion industry's carbon footprint?

That’s such an interesting question. If you, or I, buy secondhand clothes instead of buying new, the good news is that it will definitely reduce our individual carbon footprints. But, the challenge is that for all our secondhand purchases to reduce the fashion industry’s carbon emissions, they need to replace new purchases and brands need to start reducing the amount of new clothes they’re making. That’s why I’m so interested in the work you’re doing at Reskinned helping brands integrate circularity into their businesses - I hope that some of them will start to replace sales of new garments with secondhand sales.

What can brands, consumers, and governments do to promote circular fashion?

I think brands could, and should, be making it easier for their shoppers to make circular choices by developing and offering repair, resale, rental and recycling services for the clothes they sell.

I think we, as consumers, often underestimate our power as shoppers to influence the behaviour of big businesses. If we consciously choose to spend our money with brands who help us repair, resell and offer us secondhand options, then other brands will have to start following their lead.

Sadly, I don’t think some parts of the fashion industry will adopt circularity voluntarily, certainly not fast enough to have any hope of meeting the targets in the Paris Climate Accord, and so I think governments will need to introduce some type of EPR legislation to get brands to support reuse and recycling.

What are three simple tips for someone wanting to make more eco-friendly fashion choices?

Buy less - research by the Hot or Cool Institute suggests for everyone around the world to live sustainably we’d need to buy just 5 new items of clothing a year.

Always try to find what you’re looking for secondhand - there are millions of secondhand clothes out there waiting to find new homes.

Know your own style, and be realistic about what you really wear. Don’t buy clothes for a fantasy life you wished you had or a person you’d like to be - they’re the clothes you’ll be reselling unworn with tags next year.

What challenges and opportunities do brands face when trying to adopt circular fashion practices?

It’s hard for established businesses to become circular, all their infrastructure is set up to sell stuff and then forget about it. Being properly circular changes everything from the design stages to the end of a product’s life - it’s a lot to rethink! But the good news is that you don’t need to do it all yourself - there are lots of white label solutions, like Reskinned or The Seam, who can help brands test resale, rental or repair.

And I think, for businesses, helping customers repair or resell their clothes could be a really valuable way of connecting with your customers and understanding how they use your clothes over time.

Where do you see the future of circular fashion heading, and what will help drive it forward?

I hope that, in the future, at least a quarter of the clothes we buy will be secondhand and that we’ll all be mending and renting more of our clothes too. I think this transformation is already being driven by investment and innovation in the technology, systems and infrastructure to make it much easier for us to do that and supported by legislation that makes it clear brands and businesses do need to become more circular.

As Gemma highlights, the future of fashion lies in embracing circularity and making mindful choices that prioritise the planet. At Reskinned, we’re proud to be part of that movement by offering solutions to extend the life of garments through our takeback schemes, repairs, and re-commerce efforts. By keeping clothes in circulation, we reduce waste and help close the loop on fashion. Together, we can reshape the industry and make a lasting impact—one pre-loved or repurposed piece at a time. Let’s continue working towards a more sustainable fashion future!

Want to get involved in shaping the future of fashion? Shop pre-loved from your favourite brands here, or send us your old clothes via our takeback scheme and we’ll give you a reward voucher to spend at one of your favourite brands.