The City of Turin is financing some circular-economy oriented projects, among them the Balon Marketplace, an e-commerce portal for stakeholders who are active in the antiques, second-hand, vintage and reuse sectors, for a sustainable consumption of goods with a high cultural and heritage value. The portal aims to share ancient and past know-how and skills by promoting handycrafts shops.
Ms. Bay is a handbag brand that creates products made of rescued waste material and following fair-trade manufacturing ethics. The main material in their collection is salmon-leather. This has qualities similar to regular leather but is processed in a more environmental-friendly way and is highly durable.
Unverpackt in Kiel opened in February of 2014, becoming Germany’s first packaging-free store. Their goal is to reduce packaging and food waste and at the same time motivate customers to reflect on their own consumer behaviour.
Upcycling Scandinavia designs practical objects using upcycled materials such as paper, cardboard and pre-use plastic from industry. Its products are reusable and can be looped back into the manufacturing of new products.