Business case

Marketplaces or services that enable the second hand sale of own-brand products

Own brand second-hand sale

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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Kuyichi

Kuyichi, an organic denim brand with a simple stance—’timeless essentials, fairly made, to last’—is one of four brands launching a circular business model this year with the support of Circle Economy. The customer needThe Kuyichi resale business model serves two different customer needs. The take-back programme offers loyal Kuyichi customers who want to consciously clear out their closets an easy way to give their old denims a new life. Meanwhile, the upcycled resale collections aim to attract a younger generation who are in search of unique items with a cool story and values they can get behind.&nbsp; The business caseKuyichi see resale as a natural extension of their current model and believe that they will gain plenty of non-financial value from it. So the model in itself does not need to drive revenue growth—it just needs to sustain itself. To this end, their focus is to start with small volumes and grow the model over time. The expected positive impactFor a brand like Kuyichi—which keeps sustainability at the core of their business—a resale model is a natural extension and a way to change customers’ behavior and mindsets when it comes to garment care and disposal. By offering a take-back scheme for denims, they hope to divert their products from landfill. Through their upcycling collaborations, they also aim to demonstrate the inherent, long lasting value of their products. Read the full case study on the Circular Toolbox website: thecirculartoolbox.com/case/kuyichi