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Circular Economy Podcast Episode 20 How to be a problem hunter

Episode 20 – How to be a problem-hunter

In this episode, we focus on the ‘how’ of making your business circular, looking at the different ways people were getting to grips with the problem they wanted to solve. We also get an update on the new subscription model for ApparelXchange, and get some ‘bonus’ circular economy examples from David Greenfield (aka Dr Resources of the Circular Economy Club London).
How do we find a linear problem that needs a circular economy solution? Bec Evans, author of How to Have a Happy Hustle: the complete guide to making your ideas happen” suggests starting with what’s bugging you, and become ‘avid problem collectors’. We look at how our guests in the last series hunted down their linear problems and got clear on what the customer needed – the ‘job to be done’ in ‘Lean’ terms.

Renting clothes is better for us, our planet and our babies

The ‘new normal’ – why renting clothes is better for us, our planet, and our babies

Renting clothing and fashion is going mainstream. We look at why it is better for people and planet, and how Eve Kekeh, founder of Bundlee, built a successful babywear rental subscription business by helping parents choose high-quality, sustainable options and get more value for money. We unpack the linear economy mindset of ‘sell more’, explaining why it’s a race to the bottom…

Matilda Jarbin of GIAB Circular Economy Podcast

Episode 15 – Matilda Jarbin of GIAB

Matilda Jarbin, one of Sweden’s top young sustainability talents and Sustainability Manager of GIAB, a Swedish company with a business model based on the circular economy. GIAB works with a wide range of business partners, repairing products for reuse and resale. We’ll hear how GAIB got started, back in 2012, working with insurance companies. We find out how GIAB adds value for its clients, and how it’s expanding into new products, markets and services. It’s a fantastic example of how simple ideas can convert potential waste into valuable resources, providing wide-ranging benefits for both businesses and society.

David Greenfield Tech Takeback Circular Economy Podcast

Episode 14 – David Greenfield of Tech Takeback

We hear from David Greenfield, about Tech Takeback, a partnership he set up to collect end-of-use consumer technology and get it back into the loop.
“Tech-Takeback” is a partnership between SOENECS, Freegle, EraseMydata and Brighton & Hove City Council to collect stranded resources through pop-up shops.
We talk about how it got started, the complexities of secure data removal, lessons learned, and David’s plans for the next phase of the project. David tells us about his favourite circular economy example: Biohm, in London – and I’ve saved some more of David’s examples for the next ‘Best Bits’ episode (#20).

Beth Massa ARK Reusables Circular Economy Podcast

Episode 13 Beth Massa – ARK Reusables

In Episode 13 we talk to Beth Massa, founder of Ozarka. Beth and her husband Michael have created a collection of food-to-go containers, called ARK Reusables, so people can replace single-use plastics with reusable, returnable containers.

Circular Economy Podcast Izzie Eriksen ApparelXchange

Episode 11 – Izzie Eriksen of ApparelXchange

ApparelXchange is a Scottish social enterprise aiming to make it easy to reuse school uniforms, instead of wasting them.
ApparelXchange works with schools across Glasgow (age groups 7-18) to gather uniforms, and process them so they can be reused. There is an online shop, a store in Glasgow plus pop-up shops in schools.
We discuss how to make reuse and pre-loved clothing cool, how to persuade people to opt-out of fast fashion, and some of the subscription models popping up for clothing.

Lucy Antal Circular Economy Podcast Episode 9 Transforming our food systems

Episode 9 Lucy Antal – transforming our food systems

We explore the food circular economy, with Lucy Antal of food campaigning charity Feedback Global. Lucy explains Feedback’s aim to regenerate nature by transforming our food system. Feedback promotes a circular economy approach to food surplus – using it to feed people, animals and the soil. We talk about farm gate waste, overproduction and ‘gleaning’, supermarket labelling and Feedback’s work with community groups and children. We discuss the importance of food citizenship and connecting food, people and our environment.
We chat about some of Lucy’s projects, including a new social enterprise, Alchemic Kitchen, and Regional Food Networks.

Why reuse is #1 tool in circular economy toolkit

The circular economy’s ‘inner loop’ – reuse, reselling and sharing – forms the core of winning circular strategies. We explore examples of each, look at why you might be missing some of the benefits, and remind ourselves why recycling should be a lower priority.

The bottom line is this: if you aren’t working out how to tighten the loop in your business ecosystem, with strategies to reuse, resell and share, then you’re missing out on the biggest wins.
Even worse, you’re leaving value on the table for your competitors.

7 circular economy benefits for business

The circular economy has widespread benefits for society, our planet, AND for business. Whereas most reports tend to focus on macro-economic and sector level benefits, this blog outlines 7 types of circular economy benefits for businesses: Resource security, Regeneration, Risk reduction, Revenue and profit, Relationships, Reputation and Resilience.

circular economy more than recycling

The best circular strategy is NOT recycling

Whilst recycling seems much better than landfill, for most products it’s an expensive, energy intensive and ineffective option. This article sets out the case for adopting other circular economy strategies, or ‘loops’, explaining why the inner loops are better for business and society.