The circular economy: the only viable way to do business

Eco conception, which includes the design as well as the production, is also two great ways for companies to reduce their impact. The means is twofold: first, to reduce production impact, and second, to offer long- lasting or easily reparable products. As an example of the first point, the French brand 1083 decided to produce denims in France, as the production usually causes the trousers to be transported up to 65 000 km while 1083 km is the largest distance between two French cities.

The Dutch brand Fairphone illustrates perfectly the desire for a few companies to promote long-lasting products. Indeed, Fairphone sells smartphones which are easily reparable, and thus last longer, since each component can be replaced by the owner without having to go through a repair service (the new components are provided by Fairphone or by a reseller).

Biomimetics is also an innovative eco-conception solution that is inspired by the shapes, materials, properties, processes and functions of living systems. Susana de Mantos Fernandes is a researcher and faculty member at the University of Pau, where she holds the position of the Chair of Biomimetics. She draws her innovations from the study of the oceanic fauna and flora, for instance making sunscreen from red algae molecules usually eaten by fishes that can absorb UV rays.

Distribution aspects, such as distances, transportation means or packaging, also have to be taken into account in the whole impact measurement. Located in the huge Rungis food market, Pandobac offers a service of reusable trays for professional food freight transport. This means the use of disposable packaging can be avoided, such as cardboard boxes, single-use wooden boxes or polystyrene cassettes.

The use of the products also remains fundamental in a circular approach. In that sense, the economy of functionality offers to switch from an economy of ownership to an economy based on accessibility, where people are users, but not owners. There are lots of examples of this, both in the private and public sector.

The French cooperative Commown offers a phone rental service: instead of buying a new phone every two years to get a more efficient one, you can rent it for the duration you want and change it whenever you want, thus lowering waste.

Regarding the increase of product lifespan, various options are available, such as reusing, repairing and swapping. The secondhand market is trendy and widening.

MerciBOOKoup encourages book swapping instead of buying new books; this association does so by organizing book-swapping parties and installing book-swapping boxes made out of recycled wood by users.

Last but not least, waste collection and upcycling constitute a fundamental part of the circular system. Upcycling is about creating a product of higher quality, value or utility than the original one. Here are two examples to demonstrate this. First, La tête dans les nuages saves balloons’ envelopes from the trash and make bean bags with them. Second, following the same logic, Muzzicycles produces bike structures thanks to plastic bottles being upcycled.