Circular economy (CE) is a model of production/distribution where the imperative is to extend the life cycle of the products. Indeed, it involves activities such as leasing, sharing, reusing, repairing, recycling and other actions aimed at increasing the products life span. Practically speaking, CE concerns reducing as much waste as possible. When a specific product reaches its end of life it can be torn apart to keep its components in the economy to the utmost. Virtually, these economies can persist indefinitely.
Moreover, CE also has several benefits. It is responsible for reducing the dependency on the use of non-renewable resources as materials are given a new life avoiding the process to produce them again. As CE is built around the sustainable management of resources, it will help minimize the carbon footprint. It aims at economies where waste is equal to zero. It discourages the concept of planned obsolescence so that consumers can be provided with durable and innovative products saving them money in the long run. Finally, companies can benefit from it by capturing more value from its resources and by expanding its markets to new business opportunities.
Pangaia, a sustainable fashion brand selling its products online, knows this concept very well. Pangaia evaluates thoroughly the impact of their products during their entire life on the society and the environment. It is for this reason that they develop their concept of circulatory which revolves around six Rs: rethink, reduce, reuse, revive, repurpose and recycle. This company constantly seeks for new methods to improve their product design, operation processes and industry standards to further improve their circular economies. Their latest material innovation is the FLWRDWNTM which is a biobased fibre derived from a combination of wildflowers, biopolymers and aerogel. Resource effectiveness is one of their mantras. They want to reduce the use of non-renewable energy and to do so they started measuring their global environmental impact. Pangaia strives to find an afterlife purpose for their products by turning them into new designs. Their offering is majorly composed of products made from recycled cotton, wool and cashmere, emphasizing their attention to reviving old collections. In this way Pangaia will be able to feed new products the material of the old ones.
Pangaia is just one of the many companies recently formed with the idea of decreasing their social and environmental impact through the adoption of circular economies. The application of a model like the one explained is a major issue for an already established company. Therefore, the real challenge is to persuade old companies to revolutionize their business models to include more sustainable activities leading to improvements in circularity. Do you share my same view? I’d be truly happy to discuss it with you in the comments section right below!
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References
- Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits – https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits
- 5 Benefits of a Circular Economyestation – https://tontoton.com/5-benefits-of-a-circular-economy/