Life-Cycle Costing
Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) is an accounting method that assesses the total cost of a product throughout its entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to its end-of-life disposal. In the context of the fashion industry, LCC provides businesses with a comprehensive view of the financial and environmental impacts of a product over time. This enables better decision-making around production, pricing, and sustainability. By understanding the full cost implications of a product, businesses are able to create durable, high-quality garments that align with sustainability goals and meet the growing demand for responsibly sourced products. LCC promotes transparency, helping businesses to consider both economic and environmental factors, guiding them toward more sustainable practices.
Case studies
Patagonia – Worn Wear
Patagonia’s Worn Wear program extends the life of garments by buying back, repairing, and reselling used Patagonia products through a dedicated platform. By monetising repair and resale instead of only first-time sales, Patagonia effectively spreads the total life-cycle cost of each item over many years of use, reducing waste and improving the cost-per-wear for users.
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Mud Jeans – Lease A Jeans
Mud Jeans operates a lease model in which users pay a monthly fee to wear jeans and return them at end of use so the cotton can be mechanically recycled into new denim. This model internalises end-of-life and material recovery costs into the business model, making life-cycle costs visible while reducing raw material demand and landfill waste.
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Eileen Fisher – Renew
Eileen Fisher Renew is a take-back and resale program that collects worn Eileen Fisher garments, refurbishes them, and resells them through a dedicated channel. By capturing value at multiple stages of the product’s life, the company spreads design and production costs across first and subsequent users, supporting better life-cycle costing decisions and lower impacts per wear.
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Elvis & Kresse – Fire-Hose Accessories
Elvis & Kresse transforms decommissioned fire hoses and other industrial wastes into luxury bags and accessories, often with long repair guarantees and charitable donations. Their model explicitly accounts for avoided disposal costs and extended product lifetimes, illustrating how life-cycle costs and benefits can be reshaped through upcycling and durable design.
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For Days – Take-Back and Closed-Loop Basics
For Days offers circular basics with a take-back system in which customers return worn garments in exchange for credit, after which items are sorted for reuse or recycling. This closed-loop setup integrates collection, sorting, and fibre-to-fibre recycling into the revenue model, making end-of-life handling a core cost component rather than an externality.
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References
Fonseca, J. P. H., et al. (2023). Life cycle assessment in textile and apparel manufacturing: A review of current practices and data gaps. Sustainability, 15(21), 15267. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115267
Moazzem, S., et al. (2021). Life cycle assessment of apparel consumption in Australia. Environmental and Climate Technologies, 25(1), 71–111. https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2021-0006
Wiedemann, S. G., et al. (2020). Environmental impacts associated with the production, use, and end-of-life of a woollen garment. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 25(8), 1486–1499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01780-9
Braun, M. W., et al. (2021). Environmental consequences of closing the textile loop: Life cycle assessment of a circular polyester jacket. Applied Sciences, 11(7), 2964. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072964
D’Adamo, I., & Lupi, G. (2021). Sustainability and resilience after COVID-19: A circular premium in the fashion industry. Sustainability, 13(4), 1861. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041861