Circular design options for wearables integrated sportswear to be employed in adverse outdoor conditions

The fashion industry is increasingly committed in improving the sustainability and circularity of its products in a perspective strongly oriented towards technological innovation. To meet these goals, several strategies are used, mainly focusing on product design and production processes. The study of materials suitable for reuse and recycle, the “design for disassembly” of garments, the setup of reverse supply chain to recover the products, and the raising of consumers’ awareness and involvement are some of the most challenging strategies. In this perspective, smart textiles and wearable technologies put together the issues of both the fashion and electronic industry, through a wide range of possible integration strategies, increasing the complexity of the circular system to be designed. Sportswear represents an ideal context to develop wearable technologies, having a target of customers interested in technological innovations and willing to spend more efforts for increasing their performances and safety. Starting from an in-depth analysis of the available literature on the topic, this study aims at analyzing and discussing the possible design strategies for the development of circular wearable technologies, presenting a brief case study on the integration of wearables into a sport shirt, specially designed to increase cyclists and runners’ safety, including athletes with disability, in adverse environmental conditions. The various options are discussed taking into account the different stakeholders’ view, namely the technology developers, the electronic and fashion manufacturers, the fashion retailers and the end users’ needs and objectives. Lastly, an application framework to support the industrialization of the considered smart apparels is presented, providing useful hints to increase the circularity of both smart garments and wearable devices.