From pineapple to bio-degradable fabric 

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This collection was curated by the Circle Economy team from Knowledge Hub case studies for businesses, local and national governments around the world to find inspiration in practical examples of the circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://circle-economy.com" target="_blank">Circle Economy website</a> for more information and for more publications on the circular economy.

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Circle Economy

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Business case

Solutions at all stages of the textiles value chain.

Zero Waste Textiles

Make collected and sorted recyclables available for use by citizens, small businesses up to large scale industrial processes. 

Use recyclables

Impacts on the financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

Other

Locally produced food has to travel shorter, which means less fuel is consumed and less greenhouse gases are generated. Moreover, buying locally produced food helps local farmers and markets and creates more jobs in the local businesses. 


Produce locally

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Business

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Producing and gathering crop and animal products from land and water through farming, hunting, and fishing

Agriculture

Producing textile and leather products and processing them into apparel and accessories

Fashion and Textiles

Build countries consume 13% of the global material footprint, while they account for almost 50% of the population. 

Examples include countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia such as: 
- Bangladesh
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- The Philippines
- Some small island states, ...

Minimal contribution to the overshoot of planetary boundaries: these countries contribute 20% of land use change, 30% of
freshwater use, 23% of phosphorus emissions to soil, and 11% of nitrogen emissions.

To find out what country profile your country belongs to, explore [this interactive story](https://circularity-gap.world) and search for your country on the final map.

Build

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Impacts

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Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Urban Opportunities

Whilst no two countries are the same, there are still obvious similarities between some of them, with discernible development patterns and parallels in evidence. Common problems and shared solutions help place unique country identities and individual issues in context.

Whilst this classification is far from clear-cut and exhibits some overlap, it does underline how the discourse on transitioning to a circular economy needs to account for both differences and commonalities, if we are to arrive at a more strategic and instructive analysis. It also allows to highlight a set of key themes that are likely to be central to the countries that fall under the respective profiles. 

Country profiles (Build, Grow, Shift)

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A framework to distinguish between different country profiles and their circular transition needs.

Browse case studies by type of implementing stakeholder.

Implementing stakeholders

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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 Skip to main content Skip to page navigation      Explore                “Design is not just about product. Design is about responsibility.”  Dr Carmen Hijosa               Learn more           
         We've got answers           
         "Piñatex® is one of those rare products of design thinking that hits all the sustainability buttons at once: it is a material that is completely cradle to cradle, it substitutes leather that has a very heavy environmental and welfare impact, and it brings new income streams to subsistence farmers, allowing them to fully utilise their crops. The implementation of Piñatex® will have far-reaching societal and environmental benefits.”  Clare Brass Director, Department 22      View All          
     
  

 Skip to main content Skip to page navigation          Ananas Anam is a for-profit company with a positive social impact and low environmental impact.  We aim to meet the challenges of our times by developing innovative products in which commercial success is integrated with, and promotes, social, ecological and cultural development.
Piñatex® is an innovative textile that was developed for use as a sustainable alternative to both mass-produced leather and polluting synthetic materials, offering a better choice for a better future.   Find out more          
       Explore          
            Ananas Anam works to the values of a circular economy, combining research and innovation to enhance the well-being of the earth and its people throughout the entire life cycle of the product.
Our inspiration is the *Cradle to Cradle® approach, which supports ecological, intelligent and innovative design policies within today’s economic environment.
*Cradle to Cradle® is a trademark of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC. Learn more      Ananas Anam supports rural farming communities by working directly with farming cooperatives to create an additional stream of income to pineapple farmers.          Social Impact             of Philippines taken up with agriculture                Leather has been used for thousands of years, however as the industry demands more – and cheaper – supply, its production has become environmentally unsustainable.   Tanning is a complicated process, involving approximately 20 stages and 250 chemicals (including toxins and heavy metals such as hexavelent chromium, aldehyde, cyanide, zinc and lead) to halt decomposition, which are extremely damaging to both people and the environment.
Synthetic alternatives such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) are not the solution, as these are ecologically toxic to both produce and dispose of.
Piñatex® addresses these issues as a sustainably sourced textile, made from a natural waste product, created low water use and low production waste, containing no harmful chemicals or animal products.                    No additional environmental resources required for raw material.               No chemicals on the Cradle2cradle list of banned substances used in production.               Closed loop production – residual leaf biomass is used as natural fertilizer/biofuel.               Non-woven mesh is biodegradable.                     Heavy use of resources including land, water, food and fuel.               Toxic chemicals used in tanning and production have detrimental impact on health and environment.               High waste mass from tanning process.               Synthetic materials take many years to degrade, releasing toxins.                 1   Square metre of Piñatex®              We are proud to work directly with the people involved throughout our supply chain, so can tell you #WhoMadeYourFibre.        ~ Approx 13 million tonnes of waste from global pineapple agriculture every year   
  

Philippines

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Ananas Anam 

<p>Pinatex is a non-woven material made with the by-product of existing pineapple agriculture. The material is made in collaboration with local farmers and is produced in a sustainable manner. The future goal is to ensure post-consumer biodegradability of the material.</p>

Piñatex: Repurposing pineapple leaf byproducts into bio-degradable leather alternative

Using bio-based materials such as bioplastics, mushroom-based materials, etc.

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Utilise bio-based, reusable, non-toxic and non-critical materials

Regenerative materials

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

United Kingdom

<p>Ananas Anam was born at the Royal College of Art (London) as a start-up. Ananas Anam Ltd, established in 2013, has developed Piñatex®, a natural plant-based and versatile material from a sustainable source. </p>