Living Labs for Circular Regenerative Fashion: Co-creating Systemic Solutions Across the Global North and South

ENoLL @ UN Science Summit Session

The fashion industry is one of the world’s most resource-intensive sectors, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, pollution, biodiversity loss, and textile waste. While much of the demand for fast fashion originates in high-income countries, many of its environmental and social impacts are experienced in the Global South. At the same time, communities across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and beyond have developed rich traditions of repair, reuse, craftsmanship, and community-led innovation that offer valuable pathways towards more sustainable fashion systems.

This session explores how Living Labs can accelerate the transition towards circular, regenerative, and socially inclusive fashion by enabling stakeholders to co-create, test, and scale innovative solutions in real-life settings. Bringing together researchers, designers, manufacturers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, civil society, and citizens, Living Labs generate evidence that supports sustainable business models, policy innovation, behavioural change, and resilient local value chains.

Objectives

The session will:

• Foster international collaboration and dialogue among researchers, policymakers, industry, Living Labs, and civil society.
• Showcase Living Lab initiatives from both the Global North and South addressing circular textile value chains, repair and reuse, sustainable materials, digital traceability, artisan networks, and community-led production.
• Demonstrate how real-life experimentation generates evidence for policy, business innovation, and market transformation.
• Explore how traditional knowledge and local innovation complement science and technology in creating regenerative fashion systems.

AGENDA

• Opening: Why circular fashion requires systemic innovation and global collaboration.
• Keynotes: 
• Claudia Giacovelli, UNEP Textile Unit
• Matteo Ward, Fashion Entrepreneur, Sustainability Advocate
• Living Lab Showcase: Five Living Labs from diverse regions presenting practical case studies, methodologies, measurable impacts, and lessons learned.
• Interactive Discussion: Scaling circular innovation, enabling policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, strengthening local value chains, and opportunities for North–South and South–South collaboration.
• Closing: Key takeaways and invitation to join the global Living Lab community.

The session contributes directly to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals – particularly SDGs 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 17– by demonstrating how Living Labs connect science, innovation, and policy to enable a just and globally connected transition towards circular and regenerative fashion ecosystems.