Un-discarded Beauty
How these 5 companies are helping the planet though circular-consumerism
Photo by: CRYSTALWEED cannabis
The sustainable-consumer generation is here to stay. A recent 2018 survey found that almost half of consumers in the US, and 75% of millennials, favor products from companies with a low environmental impact.
While it isn’t happening overnight, most manufacturers now know that to stay relevant, they must do more than provide an attractive product, at a cheap price-point without consideration for the human and natural impacts.
So let’s take a look at some groundbreaking companies that are delivering in-demand products within a circular-economy business model.
DyeCoo
This innovative Dutch company is on a mission to transform the way we color our materials. They use a special closed-loop technology – with CO₂ as the dyeing medium. That’s right: no water, no process chemicals. The current conventional dying model is highly water intense, and highly polluting. By embracing a circular business model, DyeCoo is pioneering sustainable color.
Pollima
Based out of Los Angeles, Pollima makes sleek, stunning furniture out of hemp and cannabis byproducts. They’re serious about the circular economy and their supply chains, so they source their raw materials locally to reduce shipping emissions. By using discarded material, Pollima captures the carbon that – if not used – would be released into the atmosphere through decomposition, making them the first ever carbon negative furniture company.
Recover
This apparel company is out to tackle the whole picture – from sustainable supply chains, to clean manufacturing energy, to fostering local economic growth. Recover salvages cotton from industry scraps, and makes their own fiber from post-consumer plastic bottles. As part of the company’s “360” approach, their partner facility in Guatemala is powered by biomass from local forestry and coffee industry waste.
Stalk It
Surfers, skaters and snow-riders spend a lot of their time in the great outdoors, so it’s no surprise they want sporting gear that doesn’t degrade the very nature they are enjoying. By making all their skies and boards out of the overabundant and underutilized bio-mass material from the corn stover, Stalk It offers strong, durable sporting gear that reduces waste, carbon emissions, and resource depletion.
LTlehigh Technologies
As part of the Michelin Group,LTLehigh Technologies is embracing the economic and environmental benefits of the circular business model. Instead of using oil to make their micronized rubber powders (MRP), they turn end-of-life tiers and post-industrial rubber waste into a highly versatile and in-demand raw MRP. That MRP can then be used for a whole host of rubber products without adding tires or rubber-waste to the landfill.