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We talk to Sophie Thomas, who was recommended by designer Adam Fairweather, back in Episode 6. She has been working in the fields of ethical design, behaviour change and material process through her design agency, Thomas.Matthews ltd for nearly 20 years.
We find out how Sophie uses her experience in sustainable and ethical design to help people understand more about the circular economy. We talk about the groundbreaking Great Recovery Project, which looked at the challenges and opportunities of the CE, through the lens of design.
Sophie explains the importance of thinking about the system you are designing for, not just the object or product itself. We talk about why it is important to design for more than one product life – not just designing for better recycling, but thinking about the 3rd and 4th lives of the product. Who are you designing for, and how can you make it fit for repair, reuse, and maybe for a service or subscription model.
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:
- Episode 5 – Katie Beverley – ecodesign
- Episode 6 – Adam Fairweather – reimagine waste
- Catherine’s blogs – Why reuse is #1 tool in the circular economy toolkit and The best circular strategy is NOT recycling
- Sophie Thomas on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-thomas-1965a91b/
- Matthews ltd http://www.thomasmatthews.com/
- The Great Recovery Project http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk
- The RSA https://www.thersa.org/
- Useful Simple Trust https://www.usefulsimple.co.uk/
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation report Completing the Picture: How the Circular Economy Tackles Climate Change
Sophie Thomas MA(RCA), FRSA, MCRWM
Sop
hie is an established leader in communication and design, and in the investigation and promotion of circular economy design principles. She has been working in the fields of ethical design, behaviour change and material process through her design agency, Thomas.Matthews ltd for nearly 20 years.
Her long-term interest in materials led Sophie to establish The Great Recovery, http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk in 2012. Supported by the RSA in partnership with Innovate UK, the programme built capacity and understanding around circular design in the materials supply chain. Through her work Sophie has become a leader in sustainable product and process design, advising industries like the Oil and Gas, Product and Construction sectors in how to consider design from a closed loop perspective.
She has an in-depth knowledge of material use and how to reduce the impact of design on the environment, and has assisted global businesses and UK government organisations to define the role of designers within discussions around waste streams, resource efficiency and circular economies. In 2014 she became one of the first designers to become a Chartered Resource and Waste Manager (CIWM) and is currently a trustee for the charity WRAP that advises DEFRA on resource use and circular economy.
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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