“For a more ecological, responsible and living world” . This is the bet of Circle Sportswear , launched in November 2019, this eco-responsible sportswear brand that operates in a circular economy.
THEIR STORY
As Romain Trébuil travels around the world in 2019, he becomes truly aware of the degradation of the planet , and in particular of these naturally beautiful beaches now littered with plastic waste.
Returning to Paris, resuming running every day, Romain has another click: all the clothes he wears for sports are made of plastic and come from the other side of the world, from Asia in particular.
With his partner Alex Auroux , also a very sporty entrepreneur and experienced in the sports sector – having notably worked for the startup Sport Heroes – they both started the Circle Sportswear adventure in autumn 2019 in Paris . And you have to be daring to want to overturn the codes and ensure that consumers have a new look at the sports industry largely dominated by large multinationals such as Nike or Adidas . This is how their very first collection was released in March 2020 , on the occasion of the Paris Half-Marathon to take place on the 1st of the month but having been canceled due to the Covid.
The pillars of the brand:
- Eco-design : the materials used in the clothes come from a plastic material collected on the beaches of Italy, France and Spain then transformed in Portugal without any new resource being integrated into the production process.
- The production is local since it is 100% European and ethical .
- The business model is based on a system of pre-orders in order to avoid overproduction.
- Virtuous logistics and packaging : only short circuits are adopted to send materials so that Circle products travel on average 10 times fewer kilometers than clothing imported from Asia . No deliveries are made by cargo and Circle is setting up delivery by bike , as far as possible (the concept should extend beyond Paris soon), the packaging is recycled and recyclable.
- Upcycling & recycling : clothing can be repaired and must be designed to be used as long as possible. For this, Circle recommends that you wash your garment in the machine at 30 degrees, no more, without fabric softener and not to use a dryer. Recycling the product is obviously possible and strongly recommended as a last resort. It's about making better use of clothes rather than consuming more and more of them.
THE STORY OF THESE CLOTHES
While the textile industry is the second most polluting sector in the world , the brand helps consumers rethink the way they consume sportswear, starting with production. To be able to obtain a Circle garment, it must be pre-ordered. It is the pre-order system that reverses the standard production system because the clothes are sold before being produced. Lean production allows the brand to minimize its stocks and above all not to produce for nothing , unlike the fast-fashion brands that we all know and which end up burning, or worse, throwing away unsold items.
Regarding the textile used by Circle, it is a bio-based textile coming mainly from recycled bottles and nylon. The transformed material acquires more than 10 environmental certifications and is recyclable between 65% and 100% . It can absolutely be reused to make new clothes with it. This is the circular economy : new products are generated from waste and do not generate waste.
Moreover, each item of clothing provides the consumer with all the information that concerns him. Who made the product? Where is he from ? How many kilometers were traveled for this garment to see the light of day? To answer all these questions, there is a QR code on the garment which dematerializes the information – instead of creating a label which, moreover, often hinders movement. Having all the information available to the consumer allows them to open their eyes to their consumption in general: they now wonder about the origin of their clothes and about this vagueness as to the composition of the product. when information about a garment is not explicitly given.
Finally, you will notice that Circle sportswear is more essential than clothing dedicated to a particular sport. Indeed, the brand's objective is also to create multi-sport clothing and this is also a responsible approach , this desire to use the same garment as much as possible and as well as possible.
A REAL COMMUNITY
More than a clothing brand, Circle represents a community. Beyond producing recycled and recyclable sportswear, the brand offers its customers sports lessons every week on zoom - Covid obliges, of course, but this opens access to even more customers and it is not refusal in these times. The courses are varied, on the program: yoga , pilates or muscle strengthening . Circle's tradition is also the Wednesday evening run from La Caserne , where the brand's offices are located.
Thus, we strongly recommend that you follow the adventure of Circle Sportswears by taking a look on their Instagram or on their website . Moreover, the brand has just released a collaboration with Saint-James, we let you discover it here .
