The circular economy is an alternative way to do business. A circular business’s main goal is to eliminate waste. Plus, facilitate the continual use of resources. It gives a company a new way to market their business and stand out from the competition.
It’s an ethical system that provides people with goods and services. But, low and behold it’s still not the way mainstream companies work. The majority of large companies work within a linear style of business.
Linear Economy
People buy products, consume them, then throw them away. They buy the same products repeatedly in one lifetime. This has proven to be profitable and the reason why companies are slow to change.
However, if you multiply this process by six billion people you can see how waste adds up! The products from a linear company come from raw natural resources. The resources are virgin never before used developed in a laboratory, mined or farmed.
Support Circular Companies
The companies that strive to build a circular economy need your support. We’re told buying cheap products and plastic bottles ruin the environment. But, many people are scratching their heads wondering how they can help?
Support a circular economy. Give yourself credit because you’re doing SOMETHING! The personal choice to support any means to limit the natural degradation of our environment is a good one. It’s a good start in the reduction of waste. Voting with our dollars and changing what we buy is the best solution.
When we need to buy what’s necessary these companies offer a solution. I hope this information gives you what you need to make an impactful decision. Old shopping habits have contributed to this mess and it’s in our hands to make a change.
It’s useless to point fingers and shrug our shoulders hoping someone will fix it. Look no further! Many circular companies are small grass-root companies. So it can be difficult to find them, until now! Here are 11 circular companies with an aim to change the world one product at a time.
ENJO International
ENJO International offers a sustainable solution for cleaning your home. They supply a range of microfiber cleaning cloths in different shapes and sizes. The innovative ENJOtex fiber technology has fibers finer than a human hair. They effectively clean the smallest surface particles and germs. This cleaning system only uses water so there is no need for those nasty household chemicals. Thus, each household will dump fewer plastic containers into the landfill. This reduces a household’s plastic waste by over 1450 grams a year! These cloths will last 3 years and once it’s life is over you can send it back to ENJO. At this point, they upcycle the product into car seat padding or house insulation. Kathy Moes is Greater Vancouver’s only distributor of Enjo products. Buy these products through her and test the beauty of a circular economy.
Dresden Vision
Dresden Vision prides itself on having a closed-loop manufacturing system. Unlike Non-Dresden glasses they`re reusing their product to create more glasses. Otherwise, it’s inevitable that 99% of glasses produced end up in the landfill. Dresden Vision makes glasses with marine debris. Trash such as ghost nets, beach debris, milk caps, and beer keg caps. The manufacturing program reuses waste otherwise too tough to reuse. Not to mention harmful to the ecosystem. Last year Dresden partnered with Sustainable salons. Together they`ve developed the world`s first pair of sunglasses made up of 100% shampoo bottles.
Timberland Shoes
Timberland shoes have a sustainable and circular philosophy. Their shoes are organic, renewable or recyclable. The company developed a partnership with Omni United to create a circular economy. Together they developed their own tire and sell it to customers for their vehicles. Once the tires are finished their life the company reuses them. Timberland tires comprise the Timberland shoe’s outerwear soles. You can order Timberland tires online at an American dealer or a pair of shoes here.
G-Star Raw
Pharrall Williams is super happy about a new partnership with G-Star Raw. They’ve converted Recycled Coastal and Marine plastic waste into a plastic textile. This clothing line has created jeans with this raw material called Bionic yarn. Bionic yarn reduces plastics on the front lines of developing nations. In places where there is no infrastructure to deal with single-use plastics. You can buy jeans, snowboard jackets, suits or haute couture dresses online. It’s an exciting partnership that will help to solve the ocean plastic nightmare.
Cascades
Cascades a Canadian company dedicated to recycling cardboard fibers to make tissue paper. They’re the largest paper recycling firm in Canada offering Canadians a closed-loop system. The manufacturing and recycling pick up service contribute to a circular market system. It has won multiple packaging awards for their 100% post-consumer cardboard tray.
Allbird’s Shoes
Allbird’s shoes are literally running around using state of the art technology. They’re saving the planet one shoelace at a time! Old plastic bottles compose these shoelaces. Plus, they use 90% of post-consumer materials in their packaging. It doesn’t stop there! They’re dedicated to using natural materials. As opposed to the fake acrylic crap the industry likes to use. The shoe contains 100% Merino Wool which is natural and biodegradable. Their dedication that supports the environment also extends to social programs. The charity sole4souls delivers worn shoes to people in places in undeveloped countries. So, instead of throwing them away Allbirds will ship them to where they need to go.
Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective is a company that cares about fashion and sustainability. They have set their sights on a place in Taiwan to source plastic bottles for their fabrics. This place is home to 23 million people and it used to be called Garbage Island. Programs and volunteer groups set up small stations in rural areas. These people, mostly retired, collect and sort the trash each night. Girlfriend Collective uses the #1 PET bottles to make their activewear. This is what they need to do to develop a circular economy.
Patagonia
Worn Wear works with clothing company Patagonia offering its clothes a new afterlife. The clothes returned by customers are repaired, reused or resold. They offer ways for costumers to repair their own clothes before they give them away. The company will teach customers mending tricks and also sell mending kits online. They resell clothing at wornwear events, employees, and give to grass-root environmental groups. They’re offering clothes for disaster relief and secondhand markets in the developing world.
Insane In The Rain
The vibes at Insane In The Rain are wet and funky. (in a good kinda way.) This company makes bright, bold and awesome rain jackets using 100% recycled plastic. Each jacket is made up of 17 to 23 upcycled plastic bottles that would otherwise be left in the Ocean. A budding start-up business developing in a circular economy.
Wasteboards
Wasteboards design unique one-of-a-kind skateboards. They’re using bottle caps collected and donated from music events, school kids, and companies. They’ve mastered the process to deliver a strong yet flexible skateboard. Plus, they’re cooking up some other products in the bakery. You’ll soon be able to buy waste wheels, chairs, baskets, and bags.
Batoko
Batoko.com is a swimwear company looking to turn the tides on waste manufacturing. Their swimwear is made up of 100% plastic waste that would otherwise be headed for the landfill or Ocean. It was beach cleaning that fueled their passion to convert sea trash into sea treasure. Their workplace is powered by solar and wind energy. Plus, their supplier’s goals include zero-waste practices. Together they’re working hard to build a circular economy.
Freyzein
Freyzein produces outdoor jackets that are 100% Climate-neutral. This means their emissions are balanced by methods that remove warming gas from the atmosphere. They follow the philosophy of cradle to cradle principles. It is a holistic approach that creates waste-free systems. Every part of their jacket is built to be reused or composted without harmful residue.
Obey Clothing and Apparel
Obey is a really cool company that promotes causes through their clothing. It has many causes they’ve raised money to promote sustainability. From offering relief funds for japan to funding a mural in downtown LA. They are giving back one T-shirt at a time. One of the T-shirts I bought promotes sustainability for the environment. The factory they sourced the shirt from is called Eco life Yarns by Belda Llorens. During the yarn spinning process, they create a circular economy. 1.6 recycled plastic bottles and .10 lbs recycled cotton is used per T-shirt. The factory also only uses 87 gallons of water per shirt. They use no chemicals and save by using 75% of their energy from solar panels.
Our shopping decisions are personal and there are degrees of preparedness. An environmentally conscious person believes in recycling plastic. The activist is conscious of their environmental impact all the time. Yet, a minimalist believes recycling is not the solution and hasn’t worked thus far.
Either way, it’s important to make decisions that can help to change how we do business. It may not be easy to do this all the time. But, as long as your trying that’s what really matters.
On the flip side, there are those that could care less about what happens to the environment. Unfortunately, these people need to become a part of the modern world. The argument that we don’t need to change our shopping habits is pointless. We don’t have time to talk anymore. We need to take action now!
Keep going!
The most common household products used are the biggest culprits in waste. Toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes are one of the largest contributors to a single-use lifestyle. They contain 100% plastic and have a short lifespan of just three to four months. If you want to make a difference in the way you live your life read this post and learn about the seven everyday essentials for a more meaningful life.
