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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

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

Reduce Material Consumption (SDG12)

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)

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

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

Fashion and Textiles

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Designing products so they use as little materials, water, energy, etc. as possible during use

Design for resource efficiency

Solutions at all stages of the textiles value chain.

Zero Waste Textiles

Other

Higher-income ‘Shift’ countries need to shift away from over-consuming the planet’s resources in servicing their relatively affluent and comfortable lifestyles. 

They are home to a minority of the world’s population but consume 31% of resources and generate 43% of emissions. Per capita, shift countries are the largest consumers across all resource groups; their extraction of fossil fuels is relatively high, as is their participation in global trade. So, despite high HDI (Human Development Index) scores and comfortable lifestyles, these countries have a way to go to limit their consumption in line with our planet’s resources.

The Shift profile fits best with the higher-income countries in the global North, in the Middle East and on the Australian continent. The larger ones are the United States of America, Japan, Argentina and member countries of the European Union.

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.  


Shift

Business

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

  Partnerships for Progress    The first Care Tag for Our Planet We created our Care Tag for Our Planet in 2009 to provide consumers with straightforward, more sustainable care instructions for their jeans so that they look better and last longer. The Levi’s® and Dockers® brands now include relevant messaging on all global product care tags encouraging us to “Wash less, wash in cold, line dry, and donate when no longer needed.” Levi’s® Authorized Vintage The best jeans for the planet are the ones you don’t have to make. We estimate that selling a Levi’s® Authorized Vintage pair of previously used 501®s uses 98 percent less water than making a new pair and cuts out more than half of the carbon footprint. Learn more.  Levi’s® Tailor Shops We all have that favorite pair of jeans that we don’t want to give up, or that we know has more life in them. Our Tailor shops can help customize and repair jeans, trucker jackets and other garments to extend the life of a product, so there’s no need to buy another pair. Learn more.  Recycle and Renew We collect denim from any brand in any condition (as long as it’s clean and dry) at any of our stores in the U.S. to recycle. We’re also partnering with organizations in countries like the U.K., Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Australia and India to keep clothes out of landfills. 

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Levi's 

Levi’s launched a sustainable jeans line. The garment is made with organic cotton and Circulose, a breakthrough material made in part from worn-out jeans. Moreover, Levi's has created the first product tag, Care Tag for Our Planet, which offers tips on how to best preserve your clothing. They also offer Levi’s Authorized Vintage, the most authentic, everlasting vintage pre-owned or restored items on the market. Additionally, they work with Blue Jeans Go Green in the U.S. and Canada, and other organizations in different countries to collect used clothing. And they are increasingly designing products that are suitable for true circularity – with 100 percent recyclable materials – from the outset.

Resource efficient design to reduce water consumption for jeans production

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Starter Kit collection

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste

Waste Management

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

Prioritise regenerative resources

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

Regenerative materials

Using <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_sv" target="_blank">materials that are not considered critical</a>.

Non-critical materials and inputs 

Solidify definitions and create frameworks to support the understanding of the circular economy across contexts and maintain cohesive systems of data sharing, processing and storing.


 Knowledge Management

Research and facilitate new technological developments to aid the transition to a circular economy.

Research and Development

VISION:
Raw materials are renewable, recyclable and safe, kept in continual circulation.

DETAIL:
Imagine a time when…the raw materials that are used to make things are sourced from existing products and regenerative agriculture, via carbon negative and climate neutral processes. Biodegradable raw materials are used for products with biodegradable end routes. Toxic chemicals have been washed out of the global materials pool, disposed of safely and replaced with beneficial alternatives. Virgin fibres made from fossil fuels have been banned, while secondary synthetic fibres, derived from what was already in the system, are kept in constant circulation as a resource. Circularity accounting methods, built on science-based metrics, help to manage a balanced system of resources, across all industries, and in line with the planet’s environmental limits.

Raw Materials and Planetary Boundaries

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

Prioritise regenerative resources [Textiles]

Regenerative materials [Textiles]

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

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs [Textiles]

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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The Textiles Key Elements Framework is based on the main Key Elements Framework which renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive textile-focused strategies and interventions. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete inspiring exemples to prevent and reduce the textiles waste mountain. 

The Framework consists of:
- 3 core elements: activities directly handling textile product or material flows; and uniquely,
- 4 Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.

Under which strategies provide further detail. Finally, each strategy consists of a diversity of tangible solutions which are framed in relation to the sought outcome. 

'Click through each of the seven elements cards below to explore the framework and circular textile-focused case studies in more depth!'

This framework was developed in collaboration with Circle Economy's textiles team. Read more about it [here]( https://www.circle-economy.com/programmes/textiles). 

Textiles Key Elements Framework

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 An action-based framework for apparel brands working towards circular strategies

                              Fashions change but the industry itself never really has. It’s always been about growing more cotton, using more water, spraying more chemicals and pumping more oil to sell more of the season’s must-haves. Bigger, faster, cheaper and more wasteful. It’s the opposite of sustainable.Circulose® changes fashion.It’s a new natural material made by gently recovering cotton from worn-out clothes. People that choose Circulose® garments cut their waste, climate, water, microplastics and deforestation fashion footprint to almost zero. → We’re on a journey to make all of fashion circular. Join us.                                                   Some of the world’s most sustainability-conscious and well known brands use Circulose®. It’s by combining creativity and style with innovation that we make fashion more circular, one garment at a time. → Sign up to our newsletter to get early info on collaborations and other exciting things.         KappAhl Spring collection 2021Available in selected stores and online starting May 2021.      BESTSELLER’s Fashion FWD Lab 2021Available in selected stores and online starting April 2021.     Levi’s® has launched its most sustainable jean ever, a garment made with organic cotton and Circulose®, available as part of the Levi’s® Wellthread™ line 2020.  This unique collaboration between Levi’s® Wellthread™, the laboratory to test and validate sustainability ideas through research & development and Circulose® marks a significant milestone in the denim industry’s transition to circularity.The Levi’s® recycled denim collection will be available on the Levi’s® App and on Levi.com July 21st, 2020.             Conscious Exclusive is a recurring collection of exquisite, premium pieces that celebrate the new season with a focus on sustainability and innovation. Conscious Exclusive SS20 introduces Circulose® to retail for the very first time with an easy, blue day dress inspired by the carefree summers of the 1920s Côte d’Azur. The dress consists of 100% viscose of which 50% is FSC certified wood and 50% is Circulose® recovered from post-consumer denim. It’s the piece that proved it – recycling clothes finally works.Available in selected stores worldwide and online starting March 26th 2020.             Circulose® is made from discarded textiles, like that worn-out pair of jeans at the back of your closet. Using a breakthrough process powered by 100% renewable energy, we transform old clothes into a pristine natural material that needs no cotton fields, no oil, and no trees.THIS IS HOW IT WORKS:We take in garments that can’t be resold to people. Either they’re way too worn-out or hopelessly out of style. We prefer cotton clothes because they contain a lot of cellulose.The clothes are shredded, de-buttoned, de-zipped, de-colored and turned into a slurry. Contaminants like plastic polyester are taken out. What remains is cellulose - the biodegradable organic polymer that cotton, trees and all green plants on earth are made out of. The slurry is dried to produce sheets of pure Circulose®. We package the sheets into bales and ship them to be made back into natural textile fibers.A brand designs new clothes using Circulose® fibers. → Loop closed.        BETTER THAN NEW QUALITY — CLIMATE POSITIVE — MINIMAL WATER USE — ZERO LAND USE — ZERO HABITAT DISTURBANCE —  ZERO FERTILIZERS OR PESTICIDES — ZERO VIRGIN RESOURCES — ZERO MICROPLASTICS                    

       Written by Simon Glover	    Published: 19 November 2020        STOCKHOLM - H&M has entered into a five-year agreement with Swedish recycling innovator Renewcell to replace virgin fibres with recycled textiles in garments at scale. By the end of the deal, Renewcell will be providing H&M's suppliers with 10,000 tons per year of its Circulose material which is made from 100 per cent recycled cotton and viscose from used clothes. H&M introduced Circulose in its SS2020 Conscious Exclusive Collection but the new agreement - said to be an industry first - will be the first time it has been used at scale, according to the partners. Log in or subscribe to see this content    

                
        
  Before a shirt is worn for the first time it has been through more steps than most customers realize. Often one producer makes the yarn, another knits or weaves it into textile fabric, and a third makes the shirt from the fabric. Now it’s ready for the customer to wear.
When garments are worn out or no longer wanted some are sold second-hand or used as hand-me-downs, but the vast majority end up in landfills or are incinerated. Much too few are recycled due to the fact that cotton and viscose can’t be recycled with satisfactory quality on a large enough scale. The cycle stops, because there is a hole in the loop, a crucial part is missing. Until now.    
        
  Our recycling technology dissolves used cotton and other cellulose fibers and transforms them into a new, biodegradable raw material: Circulose® pulp. Our customers use it to make biodegradable virgin quality viscose or lyocell textile fibers. This is the link that has been missing from the cycle. We close the loop. The way fashion is produced and consumed can finally be transformed into a never-ending loop.    
        
  Circulose® is a branded ‘dissolving pulp’ product that Renewcell makes from 100% textile waste such as worn-out jeans and production scraps. Dissolving pulp is what the textile industry uses to make viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate other types of regenerated fibers (also called ‘man-made cellulosic fibers’). The only difference with Circulose® is that it’s made from textile waste instead of wood.    
   

Sweden

Stockholm

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H&M Group

Renewcell

Circulose® is a branded ‘dissolving pulp’ product that Renewcell makes from 100% textile waste such as worn-out jeans and production scraps. Dissolving pulp is what the textile industry uses to make viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate other types of regenerated fibers (also called ‘man-made cellulosic fibers’). The only difference with Circulose® is that it’s made from textile waste instead of wood.

Swedish company Renewcell develops Circulose®, a pulp made out of 100% textile waste. 

Using materials that can be easily reused or recycled after use

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within the same industry

Using closed loop recycled materials

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

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Reusable, recyclable materials and inputs [Textiles]

This week, the Levi’s® brand launched its most sustainable jean ever, a garment made with organic cotton and Circulose®, a breakthrough material made in part from worn-out jeans. Available through the Levi’s® Wellthread™ line in the 502 for men and High Loose for women, this jean represents more than five years of research in circular denim design.
This unique collaboration between Wellthread™ and re:newcell, the innovators behind Circulose®, marks a significant milestone in the fashion industry’s transition to circularity. Here, Una Murphy, Levi’s Senior Designer for Innovation, talks about how these garments came about and what they mean to us and the industry: 
What are these jeans?
These jeans represent an important step in our journey to reduce the environmental impact of our products and keep garments out of landfills.
Part of the DNA of Levi’s® is to create garments that last for decades, and these jeans prove that we also now have the capability to regenerate old jeans into new raw materials.
By using high quality recycled denim, we save on the water, chemical and CO2 footprint of our jeans. Each part of the jean – the trims, the thread, etc. – are carefully calibrated to ensure it meets recycling specifications, allowing it to have a second life when it’s worn out. We’ve worked with our innovation partner, re:newcell, to ensure the jeans can go back into their system and be used to make new raw materials, demonstrating that this garment is fully recyclable and truly circular.
In addition, we’re always seeking ways to reduce our water footprint and these jeans save water at every step of their creation, including the fiber stage with organic cotton and Circulose®, which consists of sustainably sourced viscose comprised of 50 percent recycled content from old jeans. We also utilize a water-saving dye method for our denim and each garment uses our Water<less™ garment finishing practices.
How did the collaboration with re:newcell come about?
As part of our ongoing effort to reduce the impact of our source materials, we have long been investigating and innovating new fiber and fabric strategies that we believe can deliver more sustainable products. And the Wellthread™ line has given us the opportunity to build a sustainable design practice through which we can substantiate these innovations, determining if they work and if they can scale.
We’ve always followed a design methodology driven towards greater circularity and that led us to re:newcell. In 2018, we visited their facility in Sweden, and seeing their environmentally friendly pulping process solidified our commitment to working with them. When the partnership afforded us the opportunity to use some of their first commercially available fiber, our Wellthread team mobilized to bring the product to market.
Why do we think this is important/notable? 
The fashion industry consumes a huge amount of virgin fibers – an estimate from a few years back put the number at  53 million tons. Cotton was around a quarter of that amount, and about three-quarters of it eventually wound up in landfill or was burned. This wasteful approach to overconsumption and use of natural resources is far from sustainable.
In our ongoing research and development, we strive to improve our design practices and conserve environmental resources every way we can. By incorporating sustainable innovation, we learn what’s possible and work towards solving some of our biggest challenges. These jeans are a realization of a vision and a more circular design practice that can keep materials in circulation longer, therefore reducing the impact of the garments we create, while still delivering the same style and longevity Levi’s® are known for.

 On July 21st, Levi’s® launches its most sustainable jean ever, a garment made with organic cotton and Circulose®, a breakthrough material made from worn-out jeans. Available as part of the Levi’s® Wellthread™ line in the 502 for men and High Loose for women, this jean represents more than five years of research in circular denim design.
This unique collaboration between Levi’s® Wellthread™, the laboratory to test and validate sustainability ideas through research & development, and re:newcell, the innovators behind Circulose®, marks a significant milestone in the fashion industry’s transition to circularity. It’s like-for-like fiber input means the garment can itself be recycled through an existing chemical recycling processes.
“Bringing fashion full circle, denim-to-denim, together with a brand as iconic as Levi’s® is a dream come true. To make fashion sustainable, it’s important to show people that a material like Circulose® is a real alternative to virgin cotton both in performance and style. I can’t think of a better proof than putting truly circular Levi’s® 502’s into stores worldwide” says Patrik Lundström, CEO of re:newcell.
To make Circulose®, re:newcell repurposes discarded cotton textiles, such as worn-out denim jeans, through a process akin to recycling paper. The incoming waste fabrics are broken down using water. The color is then stripped from these materials using an eco-friendly bleach. After any synthetic fibers are removed from the mix, the slurry-like mixture is dried and the excess water is extracted, leaving behind a sheet of Circulose®. This sheet is then made into viscose fiber which is combined with cotton and woven into a new fabric.
“We want to recycle Levi’s jeans in a way that doesn’t diminish their quality. By collaborating with re:newcell, our garment-to-garment recycling takes an important step forward,” notes Una Murphy, Levi’s® Senior Designer for Innovation. “Recycling keeps garments out of landfills and minimizes the use of natural resources. We’re transforming old jeans into high-quality materials, moving us beyond traditional cotton recycling, which shortens and breaks fibers. By using high-quality fiber, Levi’s jeans last longer, and designing for circularity allows our old jeans to become new jeans, again and again.”
Designed in a way that maximizes recyclability so it can be regenerated into a new jean again, each part of the jean – trims, thread, etc. – are carefully calibrated to ensure it meets recycling specifications, allowing it to have a second life when it’s worn out.  Innovations like this are what will allow Levi’s®, and the fashion industry, to reduce dependency on virgin materials.  What’s more, Levi’s® and re:newcell were able to successfully put a pair of the Wellthread™ jeans made with Circulose® and organic cotton, sourced from Turkey, through re:newcell’s recovery system and come away with viable material output for future use, demonstrating that this garment is, in fact, fully recyclable and truly circular.
“This is a sustainability challenge that we’ve been wrestling with for years, so it’s really exciting to see an aspirational concept become a familiar pair of Levi’s jeans that consumers can actually buy and wear,” says Paul Dillinger, Levi’s VP of Global Product Innovation. “The fashion industry has long been chasing the potential of the ‘circular economy.’ The jeans we’ve made in collaboration with re:newcell proves that it can be done.”
In addition, Circulose® is manufactured in a first-of-its-kind recycling facility powered by renewable energy in Kristinehamn, Sweden. This translates to denim that requires less water and energy, leaving us with an overall lighter carbon footprint.
About the Levi’s® brand
The Levi’s® brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873, Levi’s® jeans have become one of the most recognizable garments of clothing in the world—capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi’s® brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry. Our range of leading jeanswear and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style. For more information about the Levi’s® brand, its products and stores, please visit levi.com.
For questions and more information on the brand, please contact Molly Hayes, Levi’s Global PR, mhayes@levi.com
About re:newcell
Founded by innovators from Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Technology in 2012, re:newcell is a multi-award-winning circular fashion company based in Sweden. The company’s vision is to lead the way to a sustainable world by producing high quality products from recycled textiles.
Through its patented process, re:newcell can upcycle cellulosic textile waste, such as cotton and viscose, transforming it into a pristine new material called Circulose®. The company has received investment from fashion companies like H&M and is regularly recognised for its work to make fashion sustainable. Most recently, re:newcell won the Norrsken Impact Award recognising Nordic startups working to solve the world’s greatest challenges and was named a finalist in both Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards 2020 and Draper’s Sustainable Fashion Awards 2020.
For more information, visit www.circulo.se and www.renewcell.com. Follow @circulose on Instagram for regular updates on launches.
For questions, please contact Harald Cavalli-Björkman, CMO of re:newcell at harald.cavalli-bjorkman@renewcell.com or telephone +46705903204 

United States

In July 2020, Levi’s® brand launched its most sustainable jean ever, the WellThread 502 jean, made with organic cotton and Circulose®, a breakthrough material made in part from worn-out jeans, created by Renewcell.