90 - Does circular mean it’s sustainable?

Does circular mean it’s sustainable? Or, are companies just using circular economy solutions to grow their business (and their footprints)?

In this episode, Catherine Weetman wants to shine a light on something that’s been worrying her.

Over the last few years, she’s come to realise that the circular economy is not fit for purpose. It’s not helping create the future we need. Instead, it’s being watered down, and cherry picked. Catherine sees increasing numbers of businesses and policymakers choosing strategies that ARE circular – but aren’t improving sustainability. She’ll be talking about loopholes, rather than loops…

Catherine says “I think we’re at a critical turning point. We need to evolve the circular economy into a framework that supports the future we want – the future we know is possible.

If we don’t, we’re letting all our work, our innovations, our struggles, go to waste. (And you don’t need me to remind you that waste shouldn’t exist in a circular economy!)”

Podcast host Catherine Weetman is a circular economy business advisor, workshop facilitator, speaker and writer. Her award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started. Catherine founded Rethink Global in 2013, to help businesses use circular, sustainable approaches to build a better business (and a better world).

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Read on for a summary of the podcast and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.

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Links we mention in the episode:

A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business – buy from any good bookseller, or direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) and you can use discount code CIRCL20 to get 20% off. It’s available in paperback, ebook and Kindle. If you buy it from online sources, make sure you choose the new edition with an orange cover!
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Circular Economy Rebound, Trevor Zink and Roland Geyer, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume21, Issue3 https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12545 Special Issue: Exploring the Circular Economy
Does circular mean sustainable? How ‘false solutions’ undermine our progress, article by Catherine Weetman: https://www.rethinkglobal.info/does-circular-mean-sustainable-how-false-solutions-undermine-our-progress/
Circular economy rebound – is it always problematic? Article by Catherine Weetman: https://www.rethinkglobal.info/circular-economy-rebound-good-or-bad/
Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions, by Julian Kirchherr, Denise Reike, Marko Hekkert, published in Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 127, December 2017, Pages 221-232 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005
Making the circular economy work for human development, by Patrick Schröder, Alexandre Lemille, PeterDesmond. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 156, May 2020, 104686 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104686
Alice Mah tells Chris Seekings how plastics and chemical companies are taking control of the circular economy narrative, IEMA Transform magazine, June/July 2022 https://www.iema.net/articles/a-continuing-crisis-corporations-owning-the-circular-economy-narrative
Uber And Lyft Usage Increases Miles Driven In Cities, Study Says: So much for decreasing traffic congestion, by Stephen Edelstein UPDATED Oct 12, 2017, TheDrive https://www.thedrive.com/tech/15073/uber-and-lyft-usage-increases-miles-driven-in-cities-study-says
Renting clothes is ‘less green than throwing them away’ – Transportation and dry cleaning make it the worst green option for consumers of fashion, study finds. Article in the Guardian, by Priya Elan, 6 Jul 2021 https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jul/06/renting-clothes-is-less-green-than-throwing-them-away and the research: Innovative recycling or extended use? Comparing the global warming potential of different ownership and end-of-life scenarios for textiles. Jarkko Levänen et al 2021 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 054069 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abfac3/pdf

Interview Transcript

Click here to open the transcript…

Want to dig deeper?

Why not buy Catherine’s award-winning book, A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business. This comprehensive guide uses a bottom-up, practical approach, and includes hundreds of real examples from around the world, to help you really ‘get’ the circular economy. Even better, you’ll be inspired with ideas to make your own business more competitive, resilient and sustainable.

Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts. Or send us an email…

Podcast music

Thanks to Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow, otherwise known as the brilliant, inventive and generous folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow for allowing me to use the instrumentals from the live version of Summat’s Brewin’ as music for the podcast. You can find the whole track (inspired by the Copper Family song “Oh Good Ale”) on their album, also called Summat’s Brewin’. Or, follow them on Twitter.

Episode 29 – Mabel Suglo of Dignified Wear

7th June 2020 Circular economy entrepreneur recovery social value sustainability upcycling

In this episode, we’re talking to Mabel Suglo, the founder of Dignified Wear, a social enterprise in Ghana. It aims to economically empower people with disabilities and rural women through decent jobs. It trains and then employs them to handcraft durable, versatile and fashionable shoes, handbags, locally woven fabrics, clothing and traditional jewellery.

Episode 28 (revised) Chris Diplock – The Thingery

1st June 2020 Circular economy recovery rental sharing social enterprise sustainability

Chris Diplock is the Founder and CEO of The Thingery, the parent organization of neighbourhood Thingery branches, and a leader in Vancouver’s collaborative economy. You could describe the Thingery as a ‘library in a box’ – the box being a shipping container! The containers are solar-powered and so can be sited in disused spaces near the communities that will use…

Ep27 Chris Hellawell Edinburgh Tool Library

Episode 27 Chris Hellawell – Edinburgh Tool Library

10th May 2020 Circular economy recovery recycling repair sharing social value sustainability

Chris Hellawell is founder and director of Edinburgh Tool Library, which works like a lending library, sharing tools rather than books. Chris is passionate about the concept of sharing as a way to tackle the climate crisis, and also as a way to save money, and to build social connections in communities. By sharing, everyone is richer. The Edinburgh Tool…

Episode 26 – Katie Briggs of the Textile Review

26th April 2020 Circular economy fashion & textiles recovery reuse sustainability transparency

Katie Briggs set up The Textile Review, to close the loop on fabric from the events sector. She has found customers who value that pre-used fabric, and she helps both buyers and sellers reduce their costs and impact.

Episode 25 Geoff van Sonsbeeck – Baukjen

12th April 2020 business models Circular economy design fashion & textiles materials recovery rental social enterprise social value sustainability

Geoff van Sonsbeeck is the Co-Founder and CEO behind the direct to consumer womenswear brands BAUKJEN and ISABELLA OLIVER, and has been at the forefront of the slow, sustainable fashion movement for over 15 years. We talk about how the two brands are building on their durable and timeless design ethos and evolving a range of circular practices. These include…

90 – Does circular mean it’s sustainable?