Brightloops is a start-up in Amsterdam pioneering in the circular fashion economy. The company produces 100% recycled woollen clothing from old sweaters and jersey’s under the Loop.alife brand. Philips offering light as a service instead of selling the light sources is another example of the upcoming circular economy, which is one of the topics at WDCD Live Amsterdam and in the WDCD Climate Action Challenge.
Economists make us believe that prosperity can only be found in growth. But in the end more, and newer, and bigger will only lead us towards the apocalypse. To change things, we need to close the loop and reuse in smart ways what we already have. Designers have a large part in developing the circular and carbon free economy. That’s why designing for the circular economy is prominently present in the activation sessions programme at WDCD Live Amsterdam.
Closing the loop
In Closing the loop participants will enter into a circular design pressure cooker that promises to both inspire and confuse them. With associate professor at TU Delft, Nancy Bocken, and PhD candidate Ingrid de Pauw, two experts on circular product design and sustainable business development, the attendants will be creating a circular business model, product (re)design and service offer for a product they are involved in. For this they will learn to apply the CIRCO-approach. CIRCO (creating business through circular design) brings business and designers together in order to speed up the development of the circular economy. Over the past two years CIRCO has trained over 150 design professionals and supported over 100 companies in closing the loop.
Convincing investors
In If Investors Would Care About Climate journalist and environmentalist Toby Heaps, CEO of the Toronto-based magazine Corporate Knights, will challenge designers to help open the eyes of investors to the fact that with their investments they are supporting climate degradation. The aim of Heaps is to make investors recognize the impact of their investments so that they will wake up one morning thinking to themselves: ‘I cannot believe I own that stuff’.
Circular Design Guide
A third activation session is called Adopting the Circular Design Guide and specially made for designers intrigued by design methods & frameworks and with a strong conceptual background. The session with Emma Fromberg of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, introduces you to the Circular Design Guide, a great online tool for designers showcasing circular economy concepts and methods.
Take these sessions as your perfect chance to get acquainted with designing for the circular economy, a skill you can apply subsequently for your entry in the WDCD Climate Action Challenge. The call for entries for this global design competition will be opened at WDCD Live Amsterdam.
Make sure to be part in shaping our future, get your tickets at www.whatdesigncando.com and choose the activation sessions you want to attend!