The global economy is currently a linear system. This designation means that we extract resources, make them into products, and then dispose of those products as waste. This system is, well, wasteful, and at our current rates of population growth and production, unsustainable. 

The solution to this issue is switching to a circular economy. A circular economy is one which aims to achieve zero waste and recirculate any resources that are used back into the economy. Keep reading below to learn more about the idea of a circular economy and how companies and individuals are already beginning to apply this concept to their business practices.

Resources

  1. Examples of companies building in a circular economy
  2. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation is one of the leading organizations in popularizing the concept of the circular economy and helping different industries adopt circular practices. Below are a few examples of their work
  3. Repair and Mending help to increase the life of our material things. As paraphrased from Sandra Goldmark, author of “Fixation: How to Have Stuff Without Breaking the Planet”, repair is more than reducing waste or emissions. Repair is about “rethinking what we value”. Rethinking how objects are designed and who made them. Learning how to fix our seemingly broken stuff on an individual level and larger scale will be key to increasing reusability in a circular economy. Mending is how we make our unwanted materials wanted again.
  4. Books:
    • Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth (e-book available to borrow from UT libraries for anyone with a UT eid)
  5. Newsletters