This study systematically reviews the integration of circular economy (CE) principles into fashion design education across different educational contexts. The review addresses the central question: What educational methodologies, strategies, and/or tools focused on CE are being implemented in fashion design courses? A structured search using the keywords “fashion design,” “education,” and “circular economy” with the Boolean operator AND was conducted across the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. To ensure methodological rigor and minimize bias, the Quality in Qualitative Evaluation Tool was employed, providing a framework for evaluating the quality of the selected studies. From an initial pool of 358 records, eight studies—five journal articles and three conference papers—published between 2017 and 2022 were included for a descriptive thematic analysis. The review identified Project-Based Learning (PjBL or PPBL), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Experiential Learning as the most frequently cited active learning methodologies. These approaches collectively emphasize interdisciplinary integration, practical experimentation, and critical reflection, fostering student engagement and creating a dynamic environment for the incorporation of CE principles into fashion design education. This review highlights the increasing integration of CE into fashion design education, reflecting a growing commitment within academia to align fashion design pedagogy with sustainability goals. By synthesizing existing knowledge, the findings provide valuable insights for advancing CE-focused pedagogies and offer a foundation for further curricular development in this evolving field.
Moreira et al. (2026) studied this question.