The Circular Economy
When I was in my 20s, I had the privilege of travelling to Madagascar on my own. There are lots of things that excite me, but traveling and exploring new places, cultures and people take the top spot. We can learn so much about ourselves and others when we travel to new places. I had always been fascinated by Madagascar — it’s history, culture and to be really honest, I desperately wanted to go to the rainforest and see the lemurs! At the time, I had know idea how much of an effect it would have on me and my perspective today.
I was there in the late 90s, and the destruction of the rainforests around the world was making newspaper headlines. I desperately wanted to experience firsthand the complexity and beauty of this special biome before it was decimated. I had the opportunity to go on numerous hikes at dusk, and early morning in the dark to see the complexity of wildlife that inhabited Madagascar’s rainforest. Coming from Canada, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Snakes, bugs the size of small birds, lemurs and the list goes on. I was left with a feeling of awe from the absolute beauty and mystery around me.
When I left the rainforest, I made my way to the coast for another exploration of a different part of Madagascar. The beaches, and tiny islands of the coast dominate the landscape. Much of the population subsists off of the ocean, fishing for their livelihood. I was awestruck by the ingenious creation of so many of the boats. Sails were carefully stitched in a patch work pattern reusing whatever fabric and material was available. Boats made out of scrap metal, reworked and repurposed over the years. The resourcefulness and creativity was astounding. Nothing went to waste and everything had value.
Fast forward to today — February 2023. What can we learn from these the ingenuity of these boats I saw along the coastline of Madagascar? What were they doing over 25 years ago that we’re just catching on too? While the people that I had the privilege to observe were just living their lives, unbeknownst to them, they were incorporating the tenets of the circular economy. They didn’t have an excess of materials, and ‘stuff’ at their disposal, so they placed value in everything that they had, and repurposed and redesigned in order to survive.
The concept of the circular economy has been around for a while, but over the 10 or so years it’s really gained momentum. One of the leaders in education on the circular economy is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation based out of the UK. According their website:
The circular economy is based on three principles, driven by design:
To eliminate waste and pollution
Circulate products and materials (at their highest value)
Regenerate nature
Our current economic model is linear, by which materials are extracted from earth, manufactured, purchased and typically disposed of into landfill when they have no value anymore. The idea of the circular economy is to design products that continue to re-enter the economy with value. These products can be recycled into new products, or biodegrade to help earth and the environment. For example food waste is ultimately broken down and made into fertilizer, wood is reused, repurposed, or biodegrades, and metals are recycled and made into the next product. It’s rethinking how we design products and ultimately the systems in place to ensure that the products re-enter the economy rather than end up in landfill.
When natural products are mixed with technical products, such as a polycotton, they can not reenter the economy at their highest value and end up in landfill. The key is ultimately in the design. Creating products that not only have a long lifespan, but are made of materials that can continue to be reused, recycled and repurposed at their highest value.
The circular economy takes a new way of thinking. It doesn’t imply that we need to consume less, we ultimately need to design differently. While I’m personally seeing some snippets of change in this area in my own industry, it’s just not enough. There’s a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done, and creativity that’s waiting to be unleashed in this industry. Despite this, I feel hope and excitement about all of the possibilities that are in store and with this new way of thinking and living!