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I’m in conversation with one of my first circular economy heroes, Kresse Wesling, CBE. Kresse is co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms discarded materials into innovative lifestyle products.
Kresse was one of the first circular economy entrepreneurs I met, when (in 2015) I heard her tell the story of how she started Elvis & Kresse back in 2005, to rescue and transform decommissioned fire hose, from the London Fire Brigade, into bags, wallets, belts and other high-quality products. I loved it so much that I bought my husband one of the wallets for Christmas.
I’d not yet dared to invite Kresse onto the podcast… so I was very impressed when Nicole Rudolf, who joined our team earlier this year, got in touch with Elvis & Kresse after researching it for one of our case studies for the Circle Lab Knowledge Hub. Thanks Nicole!
We hear about the ‘why’ of Elvis & Kresse, and how the company has evolved, now collecting 12 different waste materials to transform into high-quality, durable, beautiful and engaging lifestyle products. It’s a B Corp, and donates 50% of the profits from its collections to charities related to those rescued materials.
Kresse explains the company ethos, plus its belief in collaboration and why it’s important to design a system, not just a product.
Podcast host Catherine Weetman helps businesses use circular, regenerative and fair solutions to do better, with less.
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Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.
Links we mention in the episode:
- Kresse Wesling on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kresse-wesling-cbe-0933646/
- Elvis & Kresse https://www.elvisandkresse.com/
- Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @elvisandkresse
- Books – Less is More by Jason Hickel
- People mentioned: Peter Desmond from the African Circular Economy Network https://www.acen.africa/
- Jo Chidley from Beauty Kitchen https://beautykitchen.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochidley/
About Kresse Wesling
Kresse Wesling, CBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur and Young Global Leader with a background in venture capital and significant start-up experience.
After first meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to charities related to the waste.
Elvis & Kresse’s first line is made from decommissioned fire hose, 50% of the profits from this line are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.
The company now collects 12 different waste streams, has several charitable partnerships and is involved with collaborations across industries, including most recently a five year partnership with the Burberry Foundation.
If you’re new to the circular economy, you might like the ‘getting started’ playlist. There’s also an interactive podcast index, making it easy to find episodes on each of the key circular economy strategies or for a specific market sector. And to dig deeper, please check out Catherine’s award-winning A Circular Economy Handbook, published by Kogan Page.
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