Content of this unit
Examples of circular enterprises
In this section you will get to know about interesting examples of active circular businesses from Europe that may give you ideas for starting your own!
Watch the video about Tournevie Tool Library in Brussels Belgium! A circular business, which uses both shared-use and repair strategies:
Tournevie (https://www.tournevie.be/english) is non-profit tool library operating in the heart of Brussels. Its concept can be compared to that of a traditional library: in exchange for a small annual membership fee, you get unlimited access to a wide range of quality tools. Regular membership is only 20 euros, and in turn you get to use the entire inventory for a year. Tournevie is an interesting alternative to traditional lease or sales models. Tournevie also organizes repair workshops to encourage consumers to take better care of their tools.
Find out how businesses around the world are going circular! Get inspired by the potentials of the circular economy!
Remanufacture and recycling:
ResourceLab from Belgium (https://www.facebook.com/ResourceLab/) creates stylish, functional and locally produced eco-design out of discarded materials. Designers Ben Hagenaars and Ollivier Piqueray give these materials a total make-over or use them as resources for completely new design pieces. The items are beautiful, functional as well as eco-friendly. Their unique style and identity makes them emotionally valuable, so they last longer than regular furniture. ResourceLab’s designs are 100% Belgian, thanks to local manufacturers who are part of the social economy.
Reuse and repair:
'Loop shops' (Kringwinkels) select, sort and fix discarded goods which they resell in their own stores. Kringwinkels get their stock from items that people donate. These are often collected at home.
In Flanders, Kringwinkels are part and parcel of the social economy, employing people with little chances on the labor market. Thanks to their low prices, Kringwinkels give the underprivileged the opportunity to buy their own basic household equipment. There are some 125 Kringwinkels in Flanders.
Refurbishment:
At Black Bear Carbon globally over one billion car tires per year are produced. At the same time roughly one billion car tires are discarded. Both the production of car tires and the end-of-life processing (usually incineration) are very polluting. Black Bear Carbon has developed an innovative process to almost completely reclaim all resources from old tires, turning them into the world's first high performance, pure, ecological carbon black.
Reuse:
FESTICUP (https://www.facebook.com/festicupBE/) produces cups made of synthetic glass. They are barely distinguishable from regular glass and have been developed to keep beverage temperatures optimal to the customer's wishes for longer than disposable cups. The cups can be printed on adding a personalised touch. The product significantly reduces waste at events by offering a reusable alternative to the generic, throwable plastic cups. Here commercial plastics and disposable materials have been subsituted by a sustainable alternative. The synthetic glass is durable and recyclable given it is made up of 100% virgin materials. An efficient and continuous production process ensures that the cups are perfectly stackable, reusable, userfriendly, durable, recyclable and unbreakable. By using reusable cups, customers may also experience reduced costs in the long run, by preventing the continuous purchasing of new cups per event. By making them easily stackable, their storage and use can be optimized, which can further minimize transport space and emissions.
Maintain/Repair:
LOOP SHOPS (https://www.dekringwinkel.be/)
Kringwinkels ('Loop shops') select, sort and fix discarded goods which they resell in their own stores. Kringwinkels get their stock from items that people donate. These are often collected at home.
In Flanders, Kringwinkels are part and parcel of the social economy, employing people with little chances on the labor market. Thanks to their low prices, Kringwinkels give the underprivileged the opportunity to buy their own basic household equipment. There are some 125 Kringwinkels in Flanders.
Watch the video about Tournevie Tool Library in Brussels Belgium! A circular business, which uses both shared-use and repair strategies:
Tournevie (https://www.tournevie.be/english) is non-profit tool library operating in the heart of Brussels. Its concept can be compared to that of a traditional library: in exchange for a small annual membership fee, you get unlimited access to a wide range of quality tools. Regular membership is only 20 euros, and in turn you get to use the entire inventory for a year. Tournevie is an interesting alternative to traditional lease or sales models. Tournevie also organizes repair workshops to encourage consumers to take better care of their tools.
Find out how businesses around the world are going circular! Get inspired by the potentials of the circular economy!
Remanufacture and recycling:
ResourceLab from Belgium (https://www.facebook.com/ResourceLab/) creates stylish, functional and locally produced eco-design out of discarded materials. Designers Ben Hagenaars and Ollivier Piqueray give these materials a total make-over or use them as resources for completely new design pieces. The items are beautiful, functional as well as eco-friendly. Their unique style and identity makes them emotionally valuable, so they last longer than regular furniture. ResourceLab’s designs are 100% Belgian, thanks to local manufacturers who are part of the social economy.
Reuse and repair:
'Loop shops' (Kringwinkels) select, sort and fix discarded goods which they resell in their own stores. Kringwinkels get their stock from items that people donate. These are often collected at home.
In Flanders, Kringwinkels are part and parcel of the social economy, employing people with little chances on the labor market. Thanks to their low prices, Kringwinkels give the underprivileged the opportunity to buy their own basic household equipment. There are some 125 Kringwinkels in Flanders.
Refurbishment:
At Black Bear Carbon globally over one billion car tires per year are produced. At the same time roughly one billion car tires are discarded. Both the production of car tires and the end-of-life processing (usually incineration) are very polluting. Black Bear Carbon has developed an innovative process to almost completely reclaim all resources from old tires, turning them into the world's first high performance, pure, ecological carbon black.
Reuse:
FESTICUP (https://www.facebook.com/festicupBE/) produces cups made of synthetic glass. They are barely distinguishable from regular glass and have been developed to keep beverage temperatures optimal to the customer's wishes for longer than disposable cups. The cups can be printed on adding a personalised touch. The product significantly reduces waste at events by offering a reusable alternative to the generic, throwable plastic cups. Here commercial plastics and disposable materials have been subsituted by a sustainable alternative. The synthetic glass is durable and recyclable given it is made up of 100% virgin materials. An efficient and continuous production process ensures that the cups are perfectly stackable, reusable, userfriendly, durable, recyclable and unbreakable. By using reusable cups, customers may also experience reduced costs in the long run, by preventing the continuous purchasing of new cups per event. By making them easily stackable, their storage and use can be optimized, which can further minimize transport space and emissions.
Maintain/Repair:
LOOP SHOPS (https://www.dekringwinkel.be/)
Kringwinkels ('Loop shops') select, sort and fix discarded goods which they resell in their own stores. Kringwinkels get their stock from items that people donate. These are often collected at home.
In Flanders, Kringwinkels are part and parcel of the social economy, employing people with little chances on the labor market. Thanks to their low prices, Kringwinkels give the underprivileged the opportunity to buy their own basic household equipment. There are some 125 Kringwinkels in Flanders.
