Bending the arc: The surest path to a circular economy

This article is sponsored by Tom’s of Maine.

Circularity has become quite fashionable this summer. June’s Global Fashion Summit in Denmark saw the launch of the CTI Fashion Initiative, spearheaded by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). At the heart of the initiative is a system of Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) developed by WBCSD. The indicators are designed to help the textile and fashion industries reduce waste by scaling circularity through the value chain.

And in May, Circularity 24, the premier conference for visionaries and practitioners building the circular economy, convened leaders from across the sustainability community—including future leaders.

The Emerging Leaders program, sponsored by Tom’s of Maine, fosters pathways into the sustainability space for students and early-career professionals who face barriers to entry in the field.

“At Tom’s of Maine, we believe in elevating underrepresented climate changemakers as they work on solutions that will benefit all people. It’s incumbent upon us to support and amplify organizations and efforts, such as the Emerging Leaders program, that are providing a voice to the next generation of environmental leaders,” said Michelle Waring, steward for sustainability and everyday good at Tom’s of Maine.

Below, 10 of these Emerging Leaders discuss how they foster a circular economy in their current role and which specific initiatives they find most effective in moving towards circularity.

Drexlar Attram

Student, M.S. in Sustainability Management, Columbia University

While at the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, I helped foster a circular economy by introducing fashion waste alternatives to an economically vulnerable community in East Harlem. Here, we worked to change the local mindset to know that “clothing is not trash.” With a physical community center that functioned as a swap shop, clothing items were $1, with vintage and new items being priced between $15 and $20. Having a space to purchase cheap clothing allowed people the opportunity to bring and take things with low risk. Also, because we worked with textile recyclers, we granted the community a space to donate items that are more difficult to find a second home for such as undergarments and socks. Individuals who donated also truly enjoyed that the donations were going directly to community members that needed them.

I really like the idea of clothing rental and just the overall idea of access over ownership. I think if you can make access more convenient than ownership, it would really help push the circular economy forward as well as foster a greater sense of community and collectivism within our society. I think the mindset of accessing something when you need it over ownership will also help decrease production and waste.

Circularity requires a mind shift more than anything. Our current consumption habits have been influenced by corporations over the years, and corporations are truly able to shape a society and shift culture. I recognize the challenge involved, but with corporations adopting circular principles—especially if they make bold transitions— they can help shift consumer sentiment towards circularity as well as shift views of consumption and production.

Shubh Jain

Cofounder and CEO of WindLoop

My current role involves leading a startup that is pioneering the establishment of a circular economy for wind energy. Regularly reiterating our vision of achieving circularity in wind energy to myself and my team is crucial. This constant reminder helps us maintain focus on the bigger picture as we engage in R&D, develop and enhance technology, interact with customers and investors, and create a long-term vision for the next five to 10 years. The path to achieving circularity in wind turbine blade recycling is challenging, and there are many potential directions our company could take. However, having a clear goal and consistently sharing this vision with the world keeps us accountable and ensures we stay on track.

Specific initiatives that foster circularity that I find most effective:

— Transparent supply chains.

— Industry partnerships that cover the broad spectrum of early startups, corporations and federal agencies such as DOE. Cross-industry partnerships are critical in getting circular solutions to market and facilitating their swift adoption.

— Anything related to comprehensive data gathering and open-source availability. There is a serious lack of open-source data related to material composition, material availability, material supply, material demand projection and global supply chains.

— Designing for circularity and disassembly, and closed-loop manufacturing.

One of the major challenges in recycling products like solar panels and wind turbine blades is the lack of consideration for recycling and disassembly in their design. Historically, the focus has been on durability, strength and efficiency, leading to designs that are difficult to recycle. Initiatives that work on redesigning these hard-to-recycle products, and scaling these efforts with industry support, will play a significant role in advancing circularity.

Celine Yang

Global Sustainability Marketing Lead at Berlin Packaging and Founder at Rise.hub

My mission is to mainstream sustainability as something essential, accessible and exciting—for everyone, everywhere. As a sustainability marketer, I constantly think about how to influence perceptions and drive systems change towards sustainability. What stories can I tell to inspire change? How can I build products that enable sustainable living?

I focus on embedding sustainability as a core part of daily life, especially regarding the products and packaging we use every day. My goal is to make sustainable choices so intuitive that people don’t have to think twice about them. Designing and scaling with sustainability at the core is crucial for fostering a circular economy. Addressing the waste crisis requires more than just reducing waste; it demands a paradigm shift in how we approach development.

While the global economy is currently only 7.2 percent circular, this presents an exciting opportunity: Estimates suggest that the circular economy could generate an additional $4.5 trillion in economic output by 2030. Many of the circularity strategies we need to scale draw from traditional and Indigenous knowledge, yet these solutions are often untapped and under-highlighted. We must amplify and scale these solutions to create a better future for all.

To drive this work, building and accelerating the sustainability workforce is crucial. As impact challenges and opportunities arise, so do jobs! That’s why I founded Rise.hub, a newsletter and platform designed to help anyone—especially students and young professionals—pursue purpose-driven careers. We help people in defining their purpose, creating their unique impact-focused journey, and expanding perceptions of what defines an “impact” role.

Linton Taylor

Sustainability and Climate Change Consultant, Deloitte

(Answers are from my own POV and do not reflect Deloitte)

I have helped to create materials for client use to help them understand the value of circularity for their business/industry. I’m very interested in sustainable fashion, so I also keep up to date with industry news, such as the launch of the CTI for fashion and textiles.

Commonly used tools, such as life cycle assessment software, are effective in understanding the impacts of a product and controlling for certain outcomes as the product moves through its life cycle, e.g., recycling at end life, transportation, sourcing of materials, etc. In addition, I think a more proactive approach of designing components of a product for reuse instead of obsolescence is a great way to prolong the value of specialized items and scarce resources, such as precious metals.

To create the systemic change needed, it’ll take engagement from government, businesses and the community. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of collective action or the value that comes from failing—it may not be perfect in the beginning, but we can’t keep having summits on definitions as roadblocks to starting: We just need to start.

Anjali Malpani

Senior Business Partnerships Manager and founding team member at rePurpose Global

I have helped hundreds of brands embed sustainability into their products. In my role at rePurpose Global, the world’s leading plastic recovery and action platform, I support consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands with upstream packaging reduction initiatives as well as downstream plastic recovery programs. I love that we can proactively address plastic pollution together, and make clear progress towards brands’ sustainability and circularity goals.

In my experience, the best ways to foster a circular economy are to invest in promising circular innovations as well as contributing towards often ignored “uncool” sectors that have proven impact (like waste management). Just as importantly: Be open about your circularity wins and losses! Sustainability is no longer an option for companies: The evolving market landscape demands that brands stand for something meaningful. And with the rise of social media and increased consumer awareness, authenticity, transparency and accountability are paramount.

Choosing progress over perfection should be our industry’s guiding principle. Every small step in the right direction contributes towards a more circular economy. Adopting a mindset of continuous improvement and innovation is therefore crucial. By embracing incremental changes and fostering a culture of experimentation, companies can iterate quickly—making more progress towards building a circular economy.

Eradajere Oleita

Founder and Executive Director of Chip Bag project

In my role as founder and executive director of Chip Bag project, I’ve been able to start an Upcycling Program where we actively collect used chip bags and transform them into new, valuable products such as sleeping bags, backpacks and wallets. We partner with recycling companies to decrease contamination of our streams, host educational events to teach the public about the  circular economy, have awareness campaigns, and advocate for better legislation around recycling and circularity in general. We also make sure to be very transparent about what we are doing, and that provides trust and helps increase awareness.

One of the specific initiatives that we do is our everyday life integration activities. At my organization we always say that circularity isn’t something we need to make room for but something we need to integrate into our daily lives. One of the ways we’ve done that is with our activity “what else can you do with that,” and with that activity we were able to find other uses for items that normally would end their life cycle in the trash. And it also opened us up to other organizations who do amazing work as well.

We reach circularity by understanding that everything is interconnected. There is no industry that can’t do better, and there is no cause that isn’t part of the movement. Circularity overall to me is the movement to preserve the natural order of the earth. It’s a movement to make sure that everything created has an end cycle in mind, and everything is created with natural products, so it can help, not harm. And it’s okay to make mistakes. Just because we can’t predict the future doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make it better.

Maria Guerrero

Sustainability Consultant, Supply Chain Specialist

The transition to a circular economy is a pivotal step toward sustainable development, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a sustainability consultant, fostering this transition involves a phased approach that includes education and training, design for circularity, and continuous learning through attending trainings and conferences.

For SMEs, this begins with workshops and training sessions on the principles of a circular economy. These sessions should highlight not only the environmental benefits but also the financial advantages of adopting circular practices. By demonstrating how circularity can lead to cost savings and new revenue streams, they increase the likelihood that companies will embrace these changes. Encouraging businesses to create products that are circular from the core and can be repaired and recycled can significantly reduce waste and resource consumption. The financial benefits of such practices should be included in the business case to increase the probability of implementation and scalability.

Additionally, as a regular citizen, one can contribute significantly to this shift through mindful consumption, advocacy work and supporting sustainable businesses.

Tevin Hamilton

Coalition Coordinator for Environmental Justice Communities Against Plastics (EJCAP) Coalition, Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles

In my current role I collaborate with frontline Environmental Justice communities and workers in the greater Los Angeles area to eliminate disposable plastics production and waste. We aim to replace these harmful industries with community and worker-rooted alternatives that promote environmental and economic justice, zero waste, and healthy, regenerative local economies. By directly addressing the entire life cycle of plastic pollution, I strive to reduce public health risks and improve the quality of life for historically marginalized communities of color.

Initiatives that encourage manufacturers to design products with modularity, repairability and recyclability in mind ensure that materials can be easily recovered and reused. By focusing on creating environmentally sustainable products that can be efficiently reused and recycled from the start of their life cycle, these initiatives significantly reduce waste at the end of the product’s life. Manufacturers adopting these practices and taking responsibility for their production processes are crucial to achieving circularity.

Attaining circularity will require a collaborative effort by frontline communities, industry manufacturers, policymakers, government officials and others. Together we can develop innovative and effective strategies to enhance the circular economy.

Aliyah Collins

Sustainable Square Mile Manager, Blacks in Green

As an Environmental Justice organizer and educator, I teach underserved Black communities ways to use circularity to transform their neighbors. This includes repurposing plastic pollution to build benches or art projects in the neighborhood, helping communities collect and use rainwater, and using food waste for gardening. My work also includes understanding how circularity can be used in community organizing when it comes to sustainable ways to market neighborhood events and programming.

Specific circularity initiatives that I find most effective are reuse initiatives that work to repurpose waste, research on nonharmful and equitable energy extraction/production, and research on biodegradable products.

Circularity is important in addressing the climate crisis. We must understand how to reuse and transform waste in innovative and equitable ways.

Brianna Jefferson

Student, M.S. in Environment and Sustainability Management, Georgetown University

This year, as a student, I’ve been focusing on learning more about circularity, discussing the concept with my peers and professors, and trying to advance the circular economy though my purchasing habits and behaviors.

In my next role, I would love to focus on circularity in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, because it would allow me to impact a wide range of products and people, and to contribute significantly to the reduction of single-use plastic.

It’s important to articulate the business case for circularity, from benefits to brand reputation and marketing to lower costs for raw materials.

Circularity initiatives such as restaurants giving discounts for individuals that bring their own reusable cups/mugs are quite effective because consumers see a direct correlation with the benefits of bringing their own cups.

I’m interested to see how the Petaluma, California, citywide reusable cup pilot performs. In partnership with Closed Loop partners, restaurants in the region are getting reusable cups to put their products in, and then reusable bins are being set up around the city. This pilot aims to test consumer preference and determine whether people will “buy in” to the project.

I think focusing on a sharing economy is also vital for achieving a circular economy. We currently exist in an “ownership” type of economy where people love to own what they have, but we need to shift to an “access” economy where items are shared within our communities. Access economies can be created through events such as “community swaps” or local marketplaces and “buy-nothing forums” online.