From linear to circular: Redefining the customer journey in sustainable fashion

Given the planet’s finite resources, it is essential to rethink and move from the linear 'take-make-waste' approach to more sustainable circular economies. This shift includes designing products that can be easily recycled or biodegraded, considering their entire lifecycle from the start. However, this comes with severe changes affecting producers, consumers, and new stakeholders alike. That is why this study investigates the impact of circular transformation on the customer journey of consumer products. Analyzing the differences between linear and circular systems, as well as variances between the technical and biological loop, promotes a better understanding for future customer relationship management. Through the analysis of exemplary circularity-optimized fashion articles and mapping their journey, practical implications can be derived. The analysis shows that a linear approach to customer journey management does not suffice for circular products. Moreover, it can be seen that initial attraction and retention of consumers play a pivotal role in circular systems, as new business models like subscription services have the potential to lock them in. Significant differences also emerge in the end-of-life stages where products are either taken back by the producer or by another stakeholder for further treatment. This demonstrates the need for bespoke customer journey strategies, which is why an adapted model is proposed to provide a starting point for circularity-optimized customer relationship management, aligned with sustainable practices.