Applying the principles

On the Circular Design Guide website, you will find methods and resources to help create more elegant, effective, creative solutions for the circular economy.

Workshops:

The Jeans Redesign sets out guidelines with the minimum requirements on garment durability, material health, recyclability, and traceability. The Guidelines are based on the principles of a circular economy and will work to ensure jeans last longer, can easily be recycled, and are made in a way that is better for the environment and the health of garment workers.

The Circular Economy in Cities is a suite of resources for urban policymakers and change-makers. Circular Economy in Cities focuses on opportunities in three key urban systems - buildings, mobility, and products - and looks at how city governments can enable a circular economy transition.

While improving recycling is crucial, we cannot recycle our way out of plastic pollution. Wherever relevant, reuse business models should be explored, reducing the need for single-use plastic packaging.

Innovative reuse models can unlock significant benefits. Enabled by digital technologies and shifting user preferences, the benefits include:

• delivering a superior user experience
• customising products to individual needs
• gathering user insights
• building brand loyalty
• optimising operations
• saving costs

Find out more in our Reuse book, which provides a framework to understand reuse, identifies six major benefits, and maps 69 examples from around the world.

Whether you represent a business or public organisation, or you are simply a concerned individual, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Food Stories collection is bound to inspire you.

Detailing examples from all over the world, Food Stories cites restaurants, city halls, national governments, and other actors working to promote a circular economy for food for the benefit of people and the planet.

From setting up effective organic collection systems to re-designing restaurant menus, our Food Stories collection illustrates what is possible when we holistically rethink our food system.

Getting into the routine of reimagining how products and services can look in a circular economy can be a great starting point when becoming a circular designer.

The Circular Design Challenge is a project that aims to encourage people to put their circular economy knowledge into practice by releasing a weekly circular design challenge. Do you want to try?