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This collection features a selection of inspiring examples of the circular economy, compiled in the context of the Switch to Circular Economy Value Chains programme (SWITCH).

Launched in 2020, SWITCH is a five-year initiative that assists EU multinational companies and their suppliers from developing countries to switch to more circular economy approaches and practices in three selected value chains: [Plastic Packaging](https://knowledge-hub.circle-lab.com/switchtocircular/search?collections=832%3D0&framework_elements__5=111), [Textile & Garments](https://knowledge-hub.circle-lab.com/switchtocircular/search?collections=832%3D0&framework_elements__5=99), and ICT and Electronics.

The overall objective of SWITCH is to support the “transformation towards a circular economy”, and to contribute to sustainable growth, low carbon and climate resilient development, decent jobs creation, and a safer, healthier and pollution-free environment.

SWITCH is co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Finland, and implemented by UNIDO, in collaboration with Chatham House, Circle Economy, and the European Investment Bank.
Learn more at www.switchtocircular.eu

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Switch to Circular Economy Value Chains

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Starter Kit collection

Business case

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

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

Fashion and Textiles

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

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

Design for cyclability

Designing products so they are able to be easily repaired

Design for repair

VISION:
Products and services are designed for multiple use and material value retention, with maximum positive impact.

DETAIL: 
Imagine a time when…products flow via optimal collection and distribution streams into reusable and repairable product platforms. Reuse and access models are dominant, and products are designed for multiple recirculation before biodegrading (if designed to do so), or being broken down into reusable raw materials for production. People only consume what they need. Production and consumption wastes have been fully eliminated and multifunctional, season-less and timeless fashions are the norm, yet still fulfil our human need for expression and creativity without constraint. All business models, organisations, governments and citizens play a role in maintaining a healthy, functioning circular ecosystem.

Products and Services

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

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

It is 2050.  Full systems change has taken place. This wouldn’t have been possible without the immediate action and radical steps taken from 2020 onwards. Many targets had to be identified in the early 2020s and achieved by 2030 to ensure that the 2050 goal happened in full. A sense of urgency, turbo stakeholder collaboration, supportive government regulation and clear, data driven targets enabled the mindsets and systems change needed to transform to a fully circular textiles ecosystem.

A circular economics model underpins what we have created. It reflects and supports a living organism made up of makers, users and restorers, interacting across vibrant and interconnected networks. Checks and balances, alongside transparency and accountability, ensure a healthy system. Financial, environmental, and social metrics have the purpose of serving communities and the planet. There is shared ownership of profit and loss – across all three metrics – throughout the value chain.

This is what we’ve achieved over the last 30 years:

WCTD Themes

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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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February 18, 2020
The Benedictine monk Jean Leclerq, towards the end of the last century, stated that "Repairing is a natural fact of universal order and consists in making anything pass from a state considered less good to a better state". I like this definition and I am fascinated by the gesture of reparation, because in it I see the intention to remedy a situation of degradation, restoring in the object what it had previously lost.
It is all about respecting the value of things and people who over time have made those things with dedication and love.
In a Bible verse the prophet Isaiah says to the people of Israel repatriated from Babylon: "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins, you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in".
The high significance of repair - which goes far beyond the instrumental purpose of being able to continue to use a particular object - lies in the human value and dignity of all those who have lived to give us the goods we use. Repairing is praxis but it is also a symbol.
John Ruskin, a great figure of the nineteenth century, used to say that we must accept the end of things. A building, an item of clothing, anything that is part of our life will sooner or later cease to exist, taking a part of us with it. For this reason, added Ruskin, we must do everything to extend its life. How? By maintaining it through small, constant works of repair: repositioning a tile that the wind has moved, plugging the hole in a water pipe, replacing a broken window; all this, if combined with cleanliness and desire for beauty, will prolong the existence of an object in a natural way.
If, on the other hand, we let every object of ours, as soon as it is defective, be discarded, with it we will throw away a small or large part of our memory, because in the objects of our life resides not only our matter, but also our spirit. To remember, in Latin, means "to recall to the heart".
Sometimes I think that the fervor for repairing has some kind of sacredness, and the gestures that belong to it, as a whole, make me think of an endearing form of liturgy, of ritual.
We grant ourselves, when it is fair to do so, the possibility of repairing the mistakes we have made. I find this a very human intention and the foundation of human respect. I approve of someone who, once a mistake has been made, is so cautious as to take note of it and start again, transforming that experience into individual growth. That is, we "repair" ourselves.
Why shouldn't we treat our things in the same way?
These have been good habits for centuries, and it seems to me that they have always worked not only for the benefit of individuals, but also for society. Perhaps, however, something has changed in recent times, and slowly the action of discarding faulty things has become widespread, to the point of replacing, in certain cases, the act of repairing. I do not want to express any judgments I do not have the right to make. After all, sometimes in high-tech the complexity of the object makes repairing it a very unviable solution. On the contrary, I believe that such a solution, if applied in the constant awareness of the human benefit to which the object itself is aimed, is to be commended. Therefore, I never believe a straight "yes" or "no" to be a suitable attitude. But the fact that repairing, as an integral part of life, does not disappear, seems to me the most lovable way to tend to the dignity of the human being – it is an action carried out "according to nature".
More generally, "acting according to nature" is an expression that I like, because it is kind and at the same time rich in meaning. Acting according to nature signifies using natural means as far as possible, employing mechanical tools or technology with wisdom and prudence and only if the need might arise. Growing wheat without using chemical fertilizers or herbicides does not produce an "organic" wheat, but a natural wheat. Natural is the action of the plough that opens the furrows for sowing. Of course – I remember this well – natural wheat didn’t grow very tall and was harvested only once or twice a year. But the earth had time to rest, and remained alive; we had time to rest, and the nourishment that mother earth gave us was the right one.
I do not neglect progress, on the contrary, I consider it the salt of the future; but I like to emphasize the meaning I have always attributed to this term, that is, human progress. Confucius' actions always followed the rule: "I hand down, I do not create". Even if it may seem at odds with the idea of progress, perhaps, on closer inspection, it is not; perhaps it is what actually enables progress, precisely because it preserves its own tradition, the one that, among other things, is maintained by repair.
But if, on the one hand, we must preserve, I have always been convinced that a radical approach to preservation leads to paralysis, and that preservation exists only, and precisely, when changes are accepted. Another philosopher, closer to us, Voltaire, thought that embracing change is very useful, because "those who do not embrace change, will also miss out on any benefit that would result from it".
Imagining a place where preservation and change harmoniously blend together may be the right way to achieve healthy, balanced and sustainable progress.


    Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli
  



Here’s the scene: You’ve invested in a double-faced cashmere topcoat from Brunello Cucinelli, an exemplar of sartorial finesse that cost you some $10,000. Basking in its glory as you head into the office, you’re bounding through the lobby when tragedy strikes by way of your single-origin Sumatra cascading down the coat’s front. You dab away, but the damage has been done. What is there to do? You can try your luck with a trip to the dry cleaner, though there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to erase the notoriously stubborn stains. And with cashmere this fine, a chemical bath might do more harm than good. It can hang in shame at the back of your closet or woefully be given up for donation. Or it can be sent to the Brunello Cucinelli center for fashion resuscitation.




Cucinelli is just one of a growing number of brands that are committed to ensuring the longevity of their products, come coffee, moths or years of wear and tear. While producing pieces of the highest quality—implicitly built to withstand the weathering of time—is a given with any luxury purveyor, some are doubling down on that assurance and putting their petites mains where their mouths are. Having assembled teams dedicated to restoring past-their-prime wares, these brands are encouraging customers to send in their wizened duds rather than simply replace them, demonstrating not only resounding confidence in their products but also a dedication to sustainability that is becoming increasingly relevant.




“Beyond a practical choice, it is also an ethical one,” says Cucinelli, who has made repairs a feature of his company since the very beginning. “I come from a culture of farmers, and growing up, we had a truly humble life. We couldn’t simply throw things out. This stayed with me.” After launching with cashmere knits in 1978, Cucinelli established a riparazioni department to accommodate customers whose sweaters had fallen prey to moths, a fairly common issue that requires intricate re-weaving beyond the abilities of the average local seamstress.
   Turnbull & Asser’s tailors reconstruct collars and cuffs with surgical precision.   Courtesy of Turnbull & Asser    



The service grew alongside his product offerings and is now a stand-alone building at his Italian headquarters, handling everything from weaving and knitting to re-lining blazers and re-soling shoes. Perhaps most remarkably—and unique to Cucinelli—all of these services are performed at no cost to the customer. “We like to think that this is a sort of lifetime guarantee for our clients,” Cucinelli says. While the service has been available for decades, he says the past few years have seen notable growth. In 2019, the company estimates it performed 5,000 repairs for its global clientele.




For Cucinelli, it’s more than just a thoughtful customer service; it’s a reflection of his brand’s ethos. “Italian design focuses on a timeless trait that makes you want to wear your pieces year after year,” he says. “Sustainability can be achieved in several ways, but I think timeless design is essential to this goal.”




According to a McKinsey report, The State of Fashion 2019, the average person buys 60 percent more clothing than they did 15 years ago—but keeps that clothing for half as long as they used to. Much of the conversation around sustainable fashion has focused on eco-friendly materials, but luxury brands, in particular, are broadening the scope. No amount of organic seersucker or plastic bottles reborn as parkas can change the fact that 73 percent of the world’s clothing materials wind up in landfills or in flames (85 percent in the US). Fashion’s sustainability problem isn’t what it’s making; it’s widespread overproduction, teamed with consumers’ perception of clothing as disposable.
   Even for something as simple as frayed stitching, Hermès’s artisans will work their magic.      



That’s one reason Kering recently expanded the parameters of its Environmental Profit & Loss measure for its brands, which include such powerhouses as Gucci and Bottega Veneta. The luxury conglomerate is using data from an extensive consumer survey to calculate the environmental impact and financial implications of how shoppers care for and eventually discard products. Many brands have examined their choices during the production process—water and carbon used, toxins generated— but a look at the life of a product after its sale paints a more accurate picture of a company’s environmental footprint.




While we may not be facing the austerity that inspired England’s World War II campaign to “Make Do and Mend,” current events—from the pandemic to global warming—have made conscientious consumption a priority for a wide swath of shoppers. Luxury brands that give their time-worn products a new lease on life are meeting the moment on two fronts: lightening their toll on the environment and providing products designed to retain their appeal over time.




The latter tenet is central to Hermès. Like Cucinelli, it eschews fashion trends in favor of haute craftsmanship and enduring design. When asked the company’s single most defining trait, Robert Dumas, the brand’s former CEO and artistic director, once advised an heir: “Hermès is different because we are making a product that we can repair.” The company’s collection includes more than 50,000 products—from luggage and teacups to suits and silk scarves—so rehabbing everything that is sold in a little, or large, orange box is a considerable undertaking.
   Brunello Cucinelli’s seamstresses can reweave knits without leaving a trace.   Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli    



Hermès employs a team of 78 repair specialists at 14 ateliers throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Last year, they received close to 100,000 requests, and the demand is so great that Hermès is opening an additional workshop. While many of the requests are for bags, luggage and accessories, the damage-repair crew offers 700 different services. And in case you’re doubting whether that frayed tie merits their expert restoration, know that company policy is to examine every Hermès product, no matter how small, old, battered or not.




Paul Stuart has a staff of tailors on-site at each of its stores—the Madison Avenue flagship has a full-floor workshop with a team of 22—which allows for particularly speedy turnaround. CEO Paulette Garafalo says it’s not uncommon for men to come in with trousers that need adjusting or even a shirt that needs pressing before a big event. Most often, though, the tailors are working their magic on suits to accommodate inches lost or gained. If it’s something the in-house team can’t address— say, a Scottish cashmere sweater or an Italian nubuck belt—they’ll send it back to the factory to be revived. As Garafalo says: “It’s the essence of what we do, providing our customer with the very best—pieces that they’ll have for a very long time.”




Darning socks and patching seams have typically carried an association with hard times. Why fuss? You can afford a new one. But the increased interest in repairs among luxury consumers is proving that attitude is changing. In reality, repairs have been a secret weapon of savvy shoppers for decades. In his book Elegance, menswear historian Bruce Boyer quotes John D. Rockefeller III’s tailor at bygone Pec & Company: “Every couple of years he’d bring in his old shirts to be reconditioned. I put on new collars and cuffs and . . . patch a hole or something, and he’d get another five years out of them. Then back he’d come again with the shirts for the same treatment. That way he’d get fifteen or twenty years out of a shirt.”
   An Hermès bag checks in for a hardware facelift.   Photo by Alfredo Piola    



That kind of thriftiness is just smart: If you invest in the best, why not get your money’s worth? This re-collaring and re-cuff- ing service has long been a part of Turnbull & Asser, which keeps an archive of fabric offcuts from its bespoke shirts precisely for this purpose. Even for ready-made shirts, the company will do its best to match the fabric—trickier than it may sound, since colors can fade—or, at the very least, refurbish a shirt with a contrasting white collar and cuffs.




Some brands are going one step further and selling rehabbed goods as collectibles unto themselves. After noticing the appetite for vintage Mark Cross products on the secondary market, CEO Ulrik Garde Due saw potential for new business. “Why should we be giving the vintage resale opportunity to third parties?” he says. “We represent future vintage. Meaning when you buy a Mark Cross product, it is long-lasting, and from a design point of view, it’s never going out of fashion. So we said, ‘Let’s take ownership of this ourselves.’ ”




The brand, which celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, began buying up vintage pieces in 2019, from attachés to opera glasses and rugby balls. Many of its vintage offerings now come from existing clients who trade in their old wares. A team assesses each piece and, if deemed worthy of resale, buys it back; then the firm either keeps it for the archives or puts it up for sale after repairing it (a service that is available for all Mark Cross products, regardless of whether owners want to off-load them).
   At Brunello Cucinelli’s headquarters, artisans-in-training are schooled on the art of mending.   Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli    



“We have a very solid group of existing customers buying vintage as well as new products, and we’re also seeing a completely new customer specifically for vintage. Young customers and older consumers, Americans but also international,” Garde Due says of the vintage collection’s broad appeal. “You can feel good about continuing the eco-cycle of a product. We are see- ing an acceleration in the consumer’s antipathy towards the waste-producing model in the fashion and luxury world.”




French shoemaker J. M. Weston, too, is turning the scuffs and stains of its products’ past lives into a selling point. The dedicated repairs workshop at its Limoges headquarters fixes up or entirely rebuilds about 10,000 pairs of shoes each year. Building on that service, the brand decided to offer customers the option of trading in their tired kicks to be resold. Weston Vintage, which debuted earlier this year, accepts old shoes at any Weston boutique, where they’ll either be exchanged for store credit or, if they aren’t quite up to snuff, get a complimentary shine. Those that are bought are sent for refurbishing before heading back to the sales floor, in either one store in Japan or two in France. And just like that, the circle of sartorial life continues.





































































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CREATIONS
 

Repairing is, for us, an art form that has a profound meaning. Taking care of our creations is a gesture of love and gratitude to all the artisans who have created them.

 




 


























ARTISANAL
 

We have always made our artisanal products using premium materials and skillful manufacturing techniques, wishing to create something beautiful that can be passed down through generations as to be given a new life.

 




 








 
















REPAIR
 

Wishing to accompany you all the way, we offer you a complimentary Repairing Service aiming at taking care of your Brunello Cucinelli creations.

 




 


























EXPERTISE
 

Our skillful artisans put their expertise and passion at your disposal and take care of your garments, directly at our workshop in Solomeo.

 




  




«In the human value and dignity of all those who have dedicated their lives to the creation of objects that we use every day lies the highest meaning of repairing. Repairing is a practice, but also a symbol». Brunello Cucinelli

 


 

Perugia

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Luxury Italian knitwear brand specialising in cashmere products

Brunello Cucinelli

<p>Brunello Cucinelli offers a complementary repair service to customers, mending luxury cashmere knitwear products from a dedicated repair facility in Solomeo, Italy.</p>