incommon is a non-profit organisation that encourages people to adopt the circular economy as a way of life. They use a bottom-up approach, working with individuals, schools, businesses, institutions, groups and local authorities.
Their approach ensures that people are informed about circular economy principles and engaged in implementing them, enabling them to make sustainable choices and drive local change.
Renewaball introduced the world’s first fully circular tennis and padel balls, designed with recycled materials sourced from used balls collected across European clubs.
This project embodies eco-friendly design by reusing rubber from old balls and using biodegradable wool felt to replace conventional polyester and nylon, which reduces microplastic pollution.
Businesses in India and around the world are adopting the circular economy as a new production paradigm. However, while the economic and environmental dimensions of the circular economy have been explored, its social impact (decent pay, gender equality, labour conditions) has been overlooked.
By surveying 100 workers and interviewing 40 managers in India, the authors developed an inventory of circular jobs with the respective demographic. They found that circular jobs in India are of low quality due to relatively low wage and job security indicators (especially for female workers). Informal migrant women in resale, repair and recycling are most vulnerable. Resale and rental based on internet platform models have the highest earning quality for men and women.
The apparel value chain is essential for the livelihood of millions of workers around the globe, but working conditions in this sector are far from satisfactory. The circular economy has been used by businesses as a framework for achieving sustainability but there is a lack of knowledge about its social impact.
This paper explores the social impact of the different circular strategies implemented in the Netherlands, Spain and India. It assesses social impacts related to the quality of jobs, workers’ sustainable livelihood and gender equality and inclusion.
It finds that the social ambition of the circular economy is low, and that current circular strategies follow the same feminisation and precariousness of working conditions found in the linear apparel value chain.
SUSTAINair was an H2020-funded project developing circular economy principles for the aviation and aerospace design, manufacturing, operations and end-of-life phases.
This paper examines the socio-environmental justice aspects of 11 key EU policies guiding the textile industry's journey towards circularity.
It found that action is needed to tackle overproduction and overconsumption in the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. Steps must be taken to address the impacts of EU circular economy textile policies on the Global South so as to ensure positive social and environmental outcomes.
The paper also concluded that efforts are needed to make just transition policies globally accountable and alleviation mechanisms integral to the Textile Strategy rather than supplementary corrective measures. Meaningful participatory mechanisms are needed that ensure the democratic inclusion of different views and actors.
The ENDURANCE project has produced a handbook setting out a green acceleration methodology with defined, transferable and effective acceleration scenarios. These will serve as a roadmap for other European clusters, regardless of their sector of industrial activity.
The aim is to promote the transition towards a clean, circular and climate-neutral economy.
Transformative circular futures in the textile and apparel value chain: Guiding policy and business recommendations in the Netherlands, Spain, and India
Circular economy practices are gaining importance in the global textile and apparel value chain. However, the circular economy's social dimension is often overlooked.
To address this problem, this study develops transformative circular futures (TCFs), co-created circular economy scenarios that are diverse and systemic and embed social impact considerations. The aim is to inform policy and business decision making in the textile and apparel value chains of India, the Netherlands and Spain.
The study recommends normalising living wages for direct, indirect and informal workers, implementing regulations challenging the patriarchy, eliminating gender pay and establishing permanent global committees of social actors.
Walking the circular talk: Analyzing the soft and hard aspects of circular economy implementation of ten business cases within the textile and apparel value chain
Companies in the textile and apparel value chain have been increasingly implementing circular economy practices. However, implementation has focused on the techno-environmental (hard) dimension, and partly overlooked the (soft) social dimension. There is a lack of empirical knowledge about how businesses in this value chain simultaneously manage soft and hard aspects of circularity and what kind of socio-environmental impact they generate.
This research analysed the soft and hard aspects of ten circular business cases from three countries. It demonstrates that both aspects are integral components of a comprehensive transformative circular transition framework that facilitates the adoption of more inclusive and circular practices while improving sustainability performance.
The transition to zero emission and energy positive buildings, neighbourhoods and communities is key to unlocking the EU's climate and energy ambitions by transforming both new and existing buildings into drivers of decarbonisation.
This policy recommendation paper puts forward 10 key policy recommendations for national and regional policy makers for overcoming financial barriers for building renovation and transforming existing buildings into zero emission or positive energy neighbourhoods by 2050.
The recommendations are based on experiences and learnings from 8 research and innovations projects in Europe, including 33 demonstration sites around Europe.
