The countdown to Christmas is almost over, and while we have been good this year, we are not going to ask for a lot this holiday season- only this: put circularity at the top of your shopping list, and join us in our movement to go #beyondblahblah.
Our gift to you: an Instagram advent calendar to showcase circular products as gift ideas for your loved ones, share inspiring stories of how others are moving straight to practice, and hold exciting giveaways from circular businesses!We are already a week away from the big winter celebration, so here are 10 circular holiday gift ideas for those of you still looking for inspiration!
This holiday season we partnered up with our Circle Member to help our community go #beyondblahblah. You could be the owner of a beautiful and warm, 100% recycled scarf. Head over to Instagram for instructions on how to participate! See Wolkat’s projects.
Here's your opportunity to win a Recover’s R blue shirt: a classic t-shirt made with a blend of Recover Upcycled Cotton and post-consumer RPET bottles. Your gift will be shipped with RePack’s innovative and reusable package. Visit our Instagram account to participate!
”Find out which brands have already made the choice to “Pack. Unpack. Repack and Repeat”, and order your gifts online- no need to return the package until after the holidays!,When you do, you will get a discount voucher to spend at any of their partner brands,including: Mud Jeans, Filippa K, Zazu Amsterdam, Supergood Store and many more! Find out who is #RePacking
Find the perfect pair of jeans.
See their Christmas collection for inspiration.
Explore Hulaaloop’s gift packages.
Shop the BioCotton collection!
Find your winter scarf.
Start exploring Fairphone2.
Give the gift of a good night’s sleep with Auping!
[cta link="www.beyondblahblah.com"]Make the wish for a circular world[/cta]
Make the wish for a circular worldMake sure to follow us on Instagram to stay updated! [hr]Together, we can make this Christmas circular. Happy holidays!
We are thrilled to announce we have been selected as a Finalist in The Award for Circular Economy Public Sector for The Circulars 2018.The Circulars, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and the Forum of Young Global Leaders, run in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, is the world’s premier circular economy award program. The awards are open to individuals and organizations from commerce and civil society in seven distinct categories and are designed to recognize and celebrate, on a prestigious global stage, all facets of the circular economy movement. Now in its fourth year, The Circulars event will be held at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos on 22nd January 2018.The Circular Economy Public Sector award category recognizes cities, regions, education establishments, NGOs, local or national government bodies and programmes or public procurement initiatives which best enable an environment for the circular economy to develop and flourish. We are very proud to be a finalist in this category alongside our fellow nominees including Sitra and four other inspiring public sector initiatives. We also want to take the opportunity to congratulate our fellow finalists and Circle Economy Members ABN AMRO, Fairphone, PGGM and Frans Van Houten (CEO of Philips) as well as our partner Instock, and our collaborator C&A for their dedication to implementing circular economy principles in their businesses. We are honoured to work with so many like-minded businesses that are making the circular economy a reality and are happy to see your hard work being acknowledged. Collaboration is the key to unlocking a sustainable, circular future for our world. Learn more about The Circulars 2018 finalists here.
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About Circle EconomyWith scalability in mind, Circle Economy seeks to inspire governments, municipalities, corporations, entrepreneurs and innovators to adopt circular initiatives. From textiles, to finance and the built environment we foster the acceleration of the circular economy across industries through research, collaboration, and shared knowledge.Our tools and services are designed to facilitate decision making and implement action plans. These tools and services can be applied to a wide range of sectors and can be utilised by everyone from investment portfolio managers to textile manufacturers. Circle Economy's tools and services provide organisations with tangible directions to set up circular projects and provide endless possibilities to integrate circularity into their strategies.Circle Economy has identified the actionable, global levers necessary to implement the circular economy and activated relevant stakeholders while maintaining an open source ethos. We have created an open platform to share insights, best practices and research on the circular economy and helped to spearhead circular pilot projects with our members and partners. Circle Economy has executed 7 city and region scans, grown and are still adding to our open source knowledge hub of more than 750 circular case studies. In the last five years, we have worked with over 150 companies and created 15 knowledge papers to guide organizations to accelerate their circular journey.
Today (November 16th) sees Circular Glasgow embark on a recruitment campaign designed to facilitate 50 Glasgow based businesses to prepare for the future. Circular Glasgow, hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, will connect with companies across the city helping them to open up new revenue streams, increase competitive advantage and realise financial savings using a range of practical tools. The team aims to complete 50 Circle Assessments by the end of 2018 using an online tool created by Circle Economy, global market leaders based in the Netherland’s. Circle Economy supported Glasgow Chamber of Commerce in the production of the Circular Glasgow Circle City Scan during Phase One, and their continued input will play a key role in inspiring businesses to assess and implement circular strategies in Glasgow. They will continue supporting the project by providing expertise in the circular economy both through knowledge, their expansive network and through the powerful circular economy business tools that they have developed.The initiative will look at different ways businesses can innovate and incorporate new design and technology, thinking through the adoption of new business models, including circular economy strategies. A circular economy is one in which every product is created with the intent of extending its life span - a direct challenge to the ‘take, make, dispose’ mentality. Alison McRae, Senior Director of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said: “We are delighted to be at the implementation stage of Circular Glasgow where we can start to get more businesses across the city involved to help them innovate and future-proof their business. Glasgow’s ambition is to position itself as a leading circular city. With Circular Glasgow’s programme of practical engagement tools, and with the ongoing support of Zero Waste Scotland, we aim to inspire organisations to embrace new business models helping them to design for the future.”
"We are delighted to be at the implementation stage of Circular Glasgow where we can start to get more businesses across the city involved to help them innovate and future-proof their business."-Alison McRae, Senior Director of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
Circular Glasgow complements Zero Waste Scotland’s and the Scottish Government's nationwide support for SMEs to develop circular economy business ideas, including its £18million Circular Economy Investment Fund and Circular Economy Business Support Service. Both are supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the £73million Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Accelerator Programme.Iain Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland’s Chief Executive, said: “Circular Glasgow is an innovative approach to maximise circular opportunities on a large scale. This is about connecting businesses in Glasgow across sectors to find opportunities in materials once thought of as waste. Simply put, for businesses this can mean turning a cost into a possible revenue stream. Working together in innovative ways will set the foundations for a future where economic buoyancy is achieved through inclusive, sustainable growth. I’m delighted Glasgow is set to become a front-runner in these efforts and look forward to what’s to come.”
“Working together in innovative ways will set the foundations for a future where economic buoyancy is achieved through inclusive, sustainable growth. I’m delighted Glasgow is set to become a front-runner in these efforts and look forward to what’s to come.”-Iain Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland’s Chief Executive
Whether an organisation has already started to implement circular strategies, or has just begun its transformation, the online Circle Assessments create a simple way to diagnose how current practices match up to circular objectives, while identifying new opportunities, at no cost to the business. A collaboration, already set up as part of the campaign, resulted in the first ever Scottish beer to be made from leftover bread, using Aulds unsold morning rolls to create Jaw Brew’s Hardtack beer. Aulds supplies its bread on a sale or return basis to retailers, and through the new partnership surplus is now given to Jaw Brew to ensure any waste is reused. The team will also be hosting Circle Workshops across the year, focusing on specific industry sectors. Interested businesses are invited to attend a Circular Glasgow information event on Wednesday, December 6 to understand how they could benefit directly. Register at www.circularglasgow.comFor more information please contact Laura Connell on +44 141 333 9585 / laura.connell@bigpartnership.co.uk
Text by: Circular Glasgow
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You can also keep up to date with the latest from Zero Waste Scotland though via their social media channels - Twitter | Facebook | Google Plus | LinkedIn #gocircularnow Tweets
[cta link="https://hva.mediamission.nl/Mediasite/Play/0d261c9af59846c891867427d7c0e0321d"]Watch the full stream[/cta]
On the 20th of October, in partnership with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Circle Economy held the 2017 edition of their signature circular textiles event, Beyond Green, at HEMA’s beautiful headquarters in Amsterdam North. Beyond Blah Blah: 5 Steps to Circularity took the 400 students and industry guests in the room on an inspirational - and educational - journey towards a circular fashion industry, with speakers as bold, creative, and international as Walt Disney’s Vanessa Belleau, Reformation’s Kathleen Talbot and Futerra’s Laura Hunter - among others. In the afternoon, CSR Managers and other senior executives met their match in a select few students, as they hacked together to solve company challenges in three-hour long workshops, guided by the 5 steps to circularity we have been sharing with our audience over the last few months.Travis Rice, Project Leader at the Alliance for Responsible Denim, shared his key takeaways from the day:
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By Travis RiceInspirational, confrontational, emotional, and as keynote Vanessa Belleau from Walt Disney stated, magical, the road to circularity is not a simple one. We know this well. Yet, it is time for action and collaboration: there is power in numbers and power in knowledge to take on the challenge of circularity as a united front.Savor below my key takeaways from BeyondBlahBlah's eight keynote speakers:[caption id="attachment_13738" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]HEMA | Eva Ronhaar, Head of SustainabilityAn influential brand and a staple in The Netherlands, HEMA sees "sustainability [as] a priority, not an afterthought - as everything we do has influence." With over 30,000 product assortments, this couldn't be more true. To ensure a circular mindset, HEMA has established some ambitious goals in regards to sustainability and eagerly communicates their actions to consumers.[caption id="attachment_13740" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]Walt Disney | Vanessa Belleau, Head of Fashion & Home Shopper MarketingIn stark contrast to the usual doom & gloom tales regarding the state of the world, Vanessa instead exuded of joie de vivre (joy of living). A true gem, Vanessa painted a whole new world of magic and disruption that had the audience rolling.For Vanessa, it is "not about buying something, it's about being something." Thinking along the path of Now-New-Next, she outlined the need to deconstruct the current, be brave, and disrupt to ultimately make our dreams a reality. Although the path will leave you vulnerable to discouraging failures and defeats, take some advice from the Disney classic Mary Poppins, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and—snap!—the job’s a game!” A game we're here to win.[caption id="attachment_13741" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]DICK MOBY | Robbert Wefers-Bettink, Co-FounderShowing that there is a sunny side to plastic, Dick Moby co-founder Robbert led us on his company's journey from initial idea to present day and beyond. As a constantly evolving entity, a brand morphs and adapts just like the people running it. For him, sustainability is not an additive, or an afterthought, but a key aspect of every stage, from concept, to design, all the way through to getting it to the customer. If you haven't caught on yet, that is why it's called circular, you have to think in 360 degrees.[caption id="attachment_13744" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]REFORMATION | Kathleen Talbot, VP Operations & SustainabilityReformation has come a long way in its short lifetime. From selling 1-of-a-kind tailored and customized vintage clothing in an L.A. storefront to a cultural eco-chic influencer of our times. Un-phased by the fame, their growth spurt only aided them in their circular mission. "Fighting for the product is key," Kathleen emphasized, for "every piece counts." Echoed in their buy lean mentality, "we see every style as a test." Simply put, less production = less waste.Continually seeking to improve their already top-quality standards, Reformation is launching their own 100 percent recycled denim line. "The first 46-piece collection will offer sustainable denim, made either with 100 percent recycled materials, deadstock fabrics or sustainably sourced fibers. Ref's production techniques eliminate the usual toxic dyes and water waste that denim is known for — saving 1,460 gallons of water for each pair."[caption id="attachment_13745" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]LENA| Suzanne Smulders, Co-FounderAs one enthusiastic audience member stated in reference to LENA the fashion library, "We buy too much AND why buy, when you can borrow?" We couldn't agree more. We need to focus on access over ownership. When one-third of a Dutch person's wardrobe consists of 50 unworn items, it raises the question, what are we buying for anyways?[caption id="attachment_13747" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]FUTERRA | Laura Hunter, Head of Copy
"To change the world, first imagine a better one." - Futerra
Taken from Futerra's homepage, the above quote captures their refreshingly optimistic approach to consulting brands. "People are who they are, not who you want them to be," Laura commented in reference to the usual narratives spun to convince & guilt-trip consumers to become more sustainable. "Be brave, creative and remember to have fun, because hope beats fear." In need of a little hope? Watch 140 Seconds of Optimism video by Climate Optimist.[caption id="attachment_13748" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]A TRANSPARENT COMPANY | Neliana Fuenmayor, Founder"What do YOU care about?" Neliana's question hit home in a room of brand representatives. Who is deciding the limits of your sustainability as a person or as a brand? If we care about something, why are we not acting? Winner of the Kering Award, Neliana is a huge endorser of blockchain. In an industry plagued with hazy supply chains, the path forward requires an industry wide adoption to ensure quality assurance at every level-from farm to factories to final purchases and beyond.Time to shape up and act like the world is watching, because soon they will be.[caption id="attachment_13749" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Photo credit: Nina Albada Jelgersma Photography[/caption]CIRCLE ECONOMY | Gwen Cunningham, Circle Textiles Programme Lead
"All is well, yet all is hell." - Gwen Cunningham
#youdoyou is perhaps an innocent hashtag to most, but for Gwen, this hashtag epitomises the complacency and narcissism plaguing the industry. For far too long, we as people allow, excuse and therefore condone the actions of others simply because “it's in their nature”. No more! We no longer have the time nor the luxury to sit back and give others a pass because, you know, “to each their own”. Time to go back to the drawing board as a collective and reconfigure. As creatures of contact, let us insure that our impact is for the betterment of us all, and completely eliminate the #youdoyou mentality.In closing, "we tell ourselves stories in order to live..." wrote author Joan Didion. These imagined realities manifest themselves into cultural norms and practices that are dead set on sticking around for the long run. The circular textiles arena is, as we speak, writing its very own story, creating our very own reality. A reality full of hidden surprises, hurdles and roadblocks, BUT is just as equally a reality of discovery, magic and endless possibilities. It's time to go #beyondblahblah.
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We will be publishing the keynote speeches, as well as more in-depth insights from the afternoon workshops in the next few weeks. Sign up for updates on Beyond Green to get them straight in your inbox.
[cta link="http://circle-economy.com/beyondgreen2017"] Yes, please![/cta]
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You can find out more about the Alliance for Responsible Denim at www.denimalliance.org
A systemic transition is necessary for the textile industry to reclaim the human, economic, and environmental value lost in today’s linear system. Brands, retailers, innovators, and governments are looking for solutions to reduce the negative impact of textiles, and they have begun to focus on creating a circular industry to displace the use of virgin fibers upstream and eliminate textile waste downstream. Increasing consumer awareness has also lifted the curtain on the unpalatable practices of apparel manufacturing, adding pressure to brands and retailers to find better solutions. The moment for incredible transformation has come, and it's time to address infrastructural developments to widen the bottlenecks standing in the way of a new, circular textile industry.A garment's life cycle has many stages: resource extraction, product design, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end of life. The first five are the most accessible for brands and retailers, and as a result, much of the industry's sustainability efforts have been focused here. This has left end of life, where the value of these items is lost, largely unaddressed. Today, take-back programmes are the primary instrument for brands and retailers to reclaim their used products, but these efforts are only collecting a small fraction of unwanted garments. In an effort to find more solutions to a rapidly escalating global problem, the industry is shifting into action: during the first two quarters of 2017 the Fashion for Good initiative launched, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced their Circular Fibres Initiative, and the Copenhagen Fashion Summit (quite literally) put circularity on the global fashion agenda.Innovators are another important enabler for circular textiles, and they are deeply engaged in the research and development of new chemical recycling technologies. If these researchers and entrepreneurs succeed in introducing their groundbreaking processes into the textile supply chain at a commercial scale, the current range of textile recycling options would expand, and significantly more textile could be returned to the supply chain. This would enable garments that have reached the end of their useful life to become garments once again.Governments are beginning to recognise their role, as well. In 2015, 193 global leaders in the UN unanimously agreed on a single agenda, set forward in the document “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) articulated within are now the common roadmap for efforts and programmes across multiple sectors, including textiles, to mitigate human impact on the planet. The European Commission has also just released a new policy document (1) focused on sustainability in the garment sector. These recent developments show that governments are beginning to understand the importance of maximising the human and environmental value of the textile industry, and they are starting to take action.Until recently, consumers have had little exposure to the product creation side of the textiles industry. Because information is now highly accessible – 70% of Europeans now acquire the bulk of their news through the Internet (2) – and because the environmental and social repercussions of the textile industry are increasingly gaining exposure, the consumer blindfold is finally falling away. Engaging consumers in the conversation is now both easier and more important than ever.This growing awareness coupled with a global focus on climate change, the increasing threat of resource scarcity, and the promise of new chemical recycling solutions has allowed circularity to gain significant ground in the textiles arena. These are incredibly valuable steps toward transformation, however, a systemic bottleneck still exists.A critical success factor for circular textiles is often overlooked: infrastructure. Circularity in textiles has been labelled a “chicken and egg” problem, and which element should come first is a common discussion. The reality is, two critical components of a circular system, post consumer consumer textiles and a range of re-processing methods and technologies, already exist. The development of next generation of recycling technologies is also beginning to accelerate. Unfortunately, a transparent and connected infrastructure of automated textile sorting capabilities, matchmaking between feedstocks and recycling technologies, and logistics to move the materials between stakeholders does not yet exist. As a result, the textile industry has a very limited volume of circular products on the market.From an environmental perspective, this is a massive missed opportunity. The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) estimates that collecting 1 kg of used clothing (as opposed to incineration or landfilling) reduces 3,6 kg of CO2 emissions, 6000 liters of water consumption, and 0,5 kg of fertilisers and pesticides used in raw material production (3). If we recycled just 10% of the 20 million tonnes (4) of post consumer textiles thrown away in Europe and the United States, we would save 7.2 billion tonnes in CO2 emissions, 12 trillion liters of water, and 1 billion kg of fertilisers and pesticides every year. Recycling technologies can return non-rewearable garments to the supply chain, and a transparent infrastructure to connect recyclable garments to recycling technologies is the missing link in a new, circular system. Circle Economy’s Textiles Programme is addressing this challenge head on with three important and related projects: Interreg funded Fibersort, Circle Market, and the Denim Alliance. All tackle core infrastructural innovations that are needed to achieve a circular textiles industry and are being developed in close collaboration with the necessary eco-system of collectors, sorters, chemical and mechanical recyclers, manufacturers, and brands. Textile recycling innovations are getting more attention and investment, forward thinking brands are proactively looking for ways to address post consumer textile challenges, and governments are exploring policies that will help mitigate further impact. Unfortunately, a lack of infrastructure can only amount to incremental change. Now it is time to collaboratively develop transparent, market-driven solutions to connect the players and facilitate the movement of materials back into the supply chain. These are the digital tools and technologies that will help us to overcome bottlenecks, streamline processes, and accelerate the necessary and burgeoning transition to a new industrial paradigm.Change is inevitable. Falling behind is optional. [cta link="http://circle-economy.com/fibersort]Get ahead of the curve.[/cta][hr](1) European Commission, Sustainable Garment Value Chains Through EU Development Action (2017)(2) Eurostat (2016)(3) Bureau of International Recycling citing University of Copenhagen study (2008)(4) Environmental Protection Agency (2013), Eurostat (2016), Friends of the Earth Report (2013)This article was originally published on Renewable Matter.
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