Framework
The 6M Model of textile circularity.
Circularity is not a diagram of ideal material flows. It is a set of decisions made by brands, retailers, and regulators. The 6M Model tracks six factors that determine whether a product system closes or leaks.
Book an ESPR strategy call →Decisions, not flows.
Most circularity frameworks describe how materials should move. The 6M Model describes who decides whether they move at all. It is built around the choices that brands and retailers actually make: what to source, how long to build products to last, how much to put on the market, and whether they can be recovered.
A recycled-fibre garment is still another garment. Per-item gains are swallowed by rising volume. The model measures the total footprint of the system, not the footprint of one good intention.
Built around who decides
Most circularity diagrams map how materials should flow — not who decides. The 6M Model is built around the choices brands and retailers actually make: what to source, how long to build it to last, how much to put on the market, and whether it can come back.
Efficiency isn't enough
A recycled-fibre garment is still another garment. Per-item gains are swallowed by rising volume, so the model measures the total footprint — not the footprint of one good intention.
Read it as three pairs
Quality (Materials + Manufacturing), Scale (Magnitude + Maintenance) and Fate (Markets + Methane). The first sets intensity, the second decides volume and lifespan, the third decides where it all ends up.
The hinge and the leak
Markets is where the loop closes — or breaks. Whatever fails to recirculate leaves as Methane: landfill, incineration, export. The model names that leak rather than drawing over it.
The 6M Model is the what. Our START framework is the how.
Book an ESPR strategy call
Speak with Symolem about applying the 6M Model to your ESPR readiness, Digital Product Passport planning, and circularity system design.
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