Business case

Impact on the availability of resources as well as their effect on living organisms, ecosystems, and components of the environment.

Ecological Impact

Impacts on the social fabric of the community and well-being of the individuals and families.

Social Impact

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

Scalability

Reduced use of virgin materials and/or an increase of the use of secondary and bio-based materials

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

Producing and providing business and consumer goods and services

Goods and Services

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

Fashion and Textiles

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

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

Regenerative materials

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

Employ online platforms to connect and improve information sharing between stakeholders

Digital platforms

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Developing or utilising online platforms to enable circular economy opportunities through information, product or service offering

Online platforms

Slow strategies aim to keep materials in use for as long as possible, for example through design for durability and repairability. A more circular economy is also a slower one: materials, components, and products—and even buildings and infrastructure—that we lock in stocks are made to last. This will lower material demand in the long run, in essence also serving to narrow resource flows.

Slow

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

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

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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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           Fashion & Beauty  Spotted: Nigerian-born designer Lola Faturoti is known for her colourful, African-inspired designs. She had long wanted to produce denim clothing but was put off by the large order sizes needed, and the huge amounts of waste involved in printing on denim. Now, she is partnering with Resonance, a garment manufacturing company that is working to eliminate inventory in fashion, creating only the pieces that will be purchased. Faturoti uses Resonance’s cloud-based platform to print her designs on organic and biodegradable denim, using 40 per cent less ink and 50 per cent less water than conventional methods. Savings are made from the item being produced only after a customer has placed an order, eliminating the manufacturing of items that never sell. Using the platform, Faturoti produces one sample of each of her designs, then manufactures them as they’re purchased. By eliminating minimum orders, it is also very easy to ditch designs that aren’t selling without generating excess garments and waste. It also speeds up the design process, allowing designers to tinker with different colours and patterns in order to see what sells. In addition to digital printing, Resonance also laser cuts all materials and uses only organic fibres. Faturoti was happy to be invited onto the Resonance platform, after wishing to print on denim for some time. She explained that, “It’s very difficult to create a printed denim. I’ve been researching this since around 2006. Yes, you can find people who will do it, but you’d have to do it in China. Their minimum is 5,000 per unit. Then there’s material and water waste, and I don’t want to do that.” There is a growing realisation that something needs to be done about the vast amount of waste involved in fashion and garment manufacturing. Designers are starting to respond, and Springwise has spotted innovations such as a zero-waste fashion company and a platform that allows brands and consumers to trace the sustainability of the entire manufacturing chain.  Written By: Lisa Magloff Explore more: Fashion & Beauty Innovations | Sustainability Innovations  13th November 2020 Email: lolafaturotiloves@gmail.com Website: lolafaturotiloves.com  

              
Lola Faturoti Loves started with an idea I had long ago to create a line of printed denim.My idea was to make denim more interesting by adorning it with the bright colors and designs I remember seeing in the outdoor markets in Africa. My previous line, Lola Loves Cargo, was built on celebrating traditional designs, but my denim does this in a more indirect way. It is bright and bold and capable of delivering an expression of purpose and self-actualization.
Lola Faturoti Loves is for everyone, which is how I always want to be. The collection is made to make people feel joy and help them share their inner joy with everyone they encounter. 
I've incorporated an important innovation onto my denim line: printed bicycle chains. To me, these signify timeless mobility. Whether in Africa decades ago, or in the most modern metropolitan city, humans have used bicycles to expand the range of what is possible in their lives. To me, this expression is particularly strong for women, who have long fought for more freedom in their lives. I hope my denim will inspire those same feelings in my customers. 
         
       
In Ondo, Nigeria, life is traditional but simple. My father was an architect and a tribal chief and my grandmother was a traditional tailor. I wanted to be out playing with other kids, but I had to sit next to my grandmother and watch her sew beautiful attire for the women in our town. This is when I started to discover the power fashion could have. A brand new outfit allowed a woman to reinvent herself, to metamorphosize into a version of herself she could have only dreamed about. This sparked my life-long love of fashion. After fashion school in London I arrived in New York in early 90s and started my career as an extrovert sales associate at Charivari. The clothes I wore back then were quite unique and many customers would comment on my style. The President of the company, Barbara Weiser also noticed, and she allowed me to sell my designs in then store. Eventually, Barbara guided me as I arranged my very first fashion line. I was off. Fashion was good to me. I traveled the world, met the most interesting people and saw my name and face on the industry’s biggest magazines. I was one of the few black women doing this work in the early 1990’s. I was honored to have one of my designs appear in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute After moving to Milan for three years, I returned and experienced my highest level of commercial success. My designs were sold in some highly reputable department stores and boutiques worldwide. It was after five years of this high tempo of work that I began to feel I wanted something more, something different, something that would allow me to be completely authentic.   I took a hiatus during which I learned hard lessons about myself and about the human condition. I learned what was important to me and what damage the fashion industry has done to the environment and to traditional societies. That is what inspired me to create Lola Loves Cargo, a sustainable brand that celebrates tradition, joy, and responsible manufacturing.  This project with Resonance finally gives me the opportunity to realize the vision I’ve had to launch a truly unique and truly sustainable denim line. The Resonance platform - create.ONE - allows me to avoid creating unneeded inventory (and filling up landfills with unsold clothes) by printing items (digitally on organic and biodegradable materials using 40% less ink and 50% less water) only after a customer completes an order. This commitment to the environment is not only important to me personally, but it is a critical part of the idea behind Lola Faturoti Loves. It is an inventive, responsible new line of clothing where bold patterns and colors combine with the most advanced manufacturing technology in ways that evoke a celebration of traditional designs in a modern world. This is how I reflect my joy. That is the vision of Lola Faturoti Loves. 
                        

United States

Nigeria

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Lola Faturoti Loves 

create.One

Lola Faturoti Loves uses Resonance’s cloud-based platform to print the designs on organic and biodegradable denim, using 40% less ink and 50% less water than conventional methods. Savings are made from the item being produced only after a customer has placed an order, eliminating the manufacturing of items that never sell.