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The Circular EconomyInnovation Report
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Innovation Report 2017
IntroductionFor centuries economies have flourished on a linear model of consumption: a process summarised as taking resources, making goods and disposing of them. This model has put extraordinary strain on the planet’s finite resources, and generated negative externalities – most notably in the form of climate change – which make it untenable. Now the linear model may be nearing the end of its shelf life.
A different model, which aims to restore and regenerate natural resources while at the same time offering economic viability, is entering the mainstream. This model is the circular economy, defined by British charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
as an economy which “seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural”. The idea has a number of antecedents, both theoretical and practical – companies have long been recycling or seeking ways to phase out waste. With the evidence around global warming becoming more and more compelling, and the financial pain of environmental damage and waste only escalating, businesses are making more effort to ensure their operating models are circular.
Achieving an entirely circular economy would involve coordinated effort across all sections of the economy. We’re not there yet, but the adoption of a range of circular economy
operating models by companies suggests significant progress. In this report we outline what those models are and how they are being put into effect by innovative businesses.
Operating model 1: Use renewable or recyclable resources One of the clearest ways to cut waste from a business model is to use only resources which are fully renewable, recyclable or biodegradable. By doing so companies can ensure that manufacturing processes will not rely on scarce resources, and that products will not end up as waste. For large companies with a significant environmental footprint, turning to renewable energy sources can have a major impact.
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IntroductionEnvironmentally sustainable methods of manufacture are being employed by all sorts of companies – from clothes makers using methane in the production of biodegradable clothing, to housebuilders putting farmyard waste into their constructions.
Businesses are even able to retrofit circular energy supply into their operations, thanks to a Swedish company which helps businesses to create net-zero energy workplaces by making use of a buildings thermal mass.A clear example of an effective circular supply model comes from Goodwell Co., an eco-friendly toothbrush company which not only
sources biodegradable materials for its products, but also uses kinetic energy to power them, saving on electricity consumption. Made from by-product and 100% biodegradable toothbrush.Using renewable, recyclable resources in product manufacture is the surest way of guaranteeing that a company’s environmental impact is reduced.
Operating model 2: Turn waste into valueCircular supply might be the most straightforward way of minimising impact, but in many manufacturing processes waste is inevitable. Where that is the case, businesses must find ways to turn waste into value, recovering the value of used products, or
turning manufacturing by-products into new products or components.
The easiest – and most common – application of this model is recycling: repurposing or reusing a product that would otherwise go to waste. One company is squeezing all it can from what others might deem waste products – using wood by-product as bedding for horses, manure from which then gets mixed with the bedding and sent to a power plant to be used as fuel. A more common waste product – coffee cups – are being recycled in a closed-loop solution by British store Selfridges, which is turning the cups into its iconic yellow shopping bags.Innovative ways of
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Introductionrecycling plastic – a commonly used and commonly wasted material – are emerging in a range of settings. Recycled waste plastic is being used in refugee camps as temporary, reusable shelters and, in Amsterdam, design studio The New Raw is 3D printing urban furniture from plastic waste. Even products which appear to have no recyclable value are being put to good use. Used toilet paper can be extracted from sewage and used for a range of functions – including as part of the paving for a bike path.
Elsewhere, by-products of production processes are being put to use, ensuring waste is kept to a bare minimum. Full
Cycle Bioplastics utilise by-products from the food industry, converting waste into biodegradable plastics. Turning by-products into value in this way enables companies to make efficient use of resources, and reduces the waste associated with their operations.
Operating model 3: Extend the life of a productWith product lines updated and iterated regularly, there can be an incentive for consumer goods companies to create products which are not designed to last. That might happen when software outpaces the hardware’s capabilities, when a product simply degrades, or when fashions change. Finding
ways to extend the lifecycle of a product can help companies move towards a more circular model.
In some cases that means repairing products when they begin to show defects. Spanish lecturer Alvaro Garcia’s idea for self-repairing asphalt roads is one such solution, and elsewhere a Tokyo student has recently developed a type of glass which can mend itself when cracked – potentially saving millions of broken phone screens from needing replacement.
Apart from repair, adaptation and reuse represent valuable ways of extending a products life cycle. Such approaches can be simple – take
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Introductiondelivery boxes which double as toys for refugee children – or complex, such as the world-first modular football stadium being installed for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Operating model 4: Share products and services While keeping products in service for as long as possible is important, so too is ensuring they are being used. Sharing platforms are one way of maximising the use of products: ride and home sharing services such as Airbnb and Uber have popularized the concept of the sharing economy, and a multitude of smaller platforms exist which minimize downtime. The brewer San Miguel
was awarded a sustainable mobility prize in 2016 for their intra-company car-pooling initiative, which encouraged employees to share rides to and from work so as to minimise waste. In Los Angeles, a similar approach is being taken by mums who are sharing cars for the school run, and in Amsterdam, the sharing platform Peerby offers a localized selection of items which can be borrowed from neighbours, ensuring underutilized products are put to work.
Operating model 5: Offer products as a serviceMost products are bought and owned by individuals. While that might make sense for a pair of trainers or a toothbrush, there
are an enormous range of products for which individual ownership makes no sense. A drill – momentarily essential but otherwise entirely redundant – is the often cited example of such a product, but there are many others, from lawnmowers to party decorations or cumbersome barbeques.
Individual ownership of these items is not only costly for the consumer, it is wasteful. If a drill is used for a matter of minutes in its entire lifecycle, why not use it as a service, rather than owning it outright? That’s the question that underpins a number of pay-per-use models, which offer products as a service.
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IntroductionTwo examples of nnovations making these lease arrangements possible are Up Sonder, a peer-to-peer drone rental service, and Boro, a service which enables users to rent high-end clothes for the occasions at which they are needed, without leaving them to gather dust for the rest of the year.
ConclusionMoving away from a linear and towards a circular model requires a change across the entire economy. While that shift may be some way off, the innovations in this report attest to the fact that progress is being made. Different models are applicable
to different companies, but the combination of approaches outlined above ensure that products are created in a sustainable way, used efficiently and disposed in a productive, environmentally friendly manner. These approaches will only become more essential in the future, as resource constraints are pushed to their limits.
SPRINGWISE EDITORIAL TEAM
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Methane is useful as a fuel and an ingredient in plastics and fertilizers, but it is also a greenhouse gas which traps 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide. California startup, Mango Materials, has found a new use for methane - as biodegradable clothing.
Scientists have known for some time that, under certain conditions, different types of bacteria can produce plastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. These bio-polyester fibers can then be harvested from the bacteria and spun into thread, which in turn can be woven into cloth.
Although it is currently more expensive to produce PHAs than to make plastics out of petroleum, Mango Materials hopes to reduce the price of producing PHAs to commercially-viable levels by using waste methane to feed the bacteria. Once harvested, they will then use the bio-polyester fibers to create clothing that is fully biodegradable.
Mango is focused on the garment industry, partly because of the opportunities it offers for developing a closed system. Mango CEO and co-founder Dr. Molly Morse envisions a system where,
instead of throwing worn clothing away, it would be composted, with the methane released by the composted clothing captured and used to make new garments. Mango Materials currently has a pilot facility at a wastewater treatment plant in Redwood City, California and is in talks with other methane producers, such as dairy farms. The company has also been selected for an award from NASA to explore the production of bio-polymers in a microgravity environment. What other uses are there for biologically-produced, biodegradable plastics?
Biodegradable clothing grown using waste methaneA new company hopes to use waste methane to grow bio-polyester for use in clothing manufacture.
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At a Glance
WHATA new company hopes to use waste methane to grow bio-polyester for use in clothing manufacture.
WHOMango Materials
WHEREUnited States
CONTACTwww.mangomaterials.comwww.mangomaterials.com/contact-us/
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The project, led by GXN in collaboration with design firm EEN TIL EEN and supported by the Danish Ministry of the Environment, aims to demonstrate the capability of upcycling and sustainability in housing concepts. Beginning from the ground up, the Biological House doesn't require the permanence of concrete; instead the architects opted for screw piles, meaning the homes can be uprooted and moved elsewhere relatively easily and with little land disruption. The majority of building materials were sourced from what is usually
considered farming waste. Referred to as 'biowaste' in the farming industry that would normally be sent for incineration for energy production, these materials included the stems from harvested tomato plants, straw, seaweed, wood chips and more. Following many tests for robustness and static properties, the materials were made into a composite boarding used in the walls of the Biological House. The home was then finished with cladding from Norway-based Kebony, sustainability-oriented wood specialists that have devised a patented technique where
softwood is treated to give it properties similar to hardwood, making it durable and appealing, even producing a silvery coating over time through exposure. Even the design process was chosen to minimize waste: EEN TIL EEN uses advanced digital techniques to ensure projects move from proof-of-concept to actual builds rapidly and with less chance of error. The Biological House is being presented as part of the BIOTOPE project in Middelfart, Denmark.What else could be upcycled into what else?
Biological house is built from upcycled farming wasteA collaborative project supported by the Danish Ministry of the Environment uses agricultural waste as building materials in sustainable housing.
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WHATA collaborative project supported by the Danish Ministry of the Environment uses agricultural waste as building materials in sustainable housing.
WHOGXN
WHEREDenmark / Norway
CONTACTwww.gxn.3xn.com/[email protected]
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Malmö-based company Innenco has created a new energy concept that harnesses a building's thermal mass to reduce its energy, allowing it to become a net-zero energy structure. This has the dual benefits of helping both the environment and the user's energy bills.
Innenco, or “Innovative Energy Concept” to give it its full name, uses active elements systems, heat pumps, chillers and solar panels, and can be installed during a new-build or retrofitted. Pipes are integrated into the building's frame, which Innenco say gives the
user up to six times the efficiency of a traditional system.
It works in practice too, as Innenco have already trialled the system extensively in school, offices, homes and industrial buildings in several countries around Europe – with plans to eventually expand into the United States. In the test results the percentage of improvement ranges from 60 percent for schools, up to 85 for industrial buildings.
As the need for housing grows, many smart inventors are working
on ways to make less of a carbon footprint in the world. An Ukrainian startup has designed a 3D printed and fully solar powered house, while the Putney School in Vermont built its own net-zero field house. Could we one day see a day when all new housing has a net-zero rating?
New concept gives any building net-zero energyAn innovative energy concept designed in Sweden can be applied to both new and existing structures.
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WHATAn innovative energy concept designed in Sweden can be applied to both new and existing structures.
WHOInnenco
WHERESweden
CONTACTwww.innenco.comwww.innenco.com/contact.html
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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away more than three billion batteries every year, and around half of those are single use alkaline batteries. Now a new innovation promises another way to reduce battery use with an electric toothbrush powered by two simple twists.
The Be (Beyond Electric) toothbrush was created by Goodwell Co., which was founded with the goal of creating sustainable oral hygiene products. The toothbrush is made from 90 percent post-consumer material and is 100 percent
biodegradable. The brush is powered by a multiplier transmission system. Users give the dial just two full twists and this will deliver 80,000 brushstrokes at a dentist-recommended 120 grams of pressure. The biodegradable bristles contain activated charcoal to balance ph, aid in odor absorption and kill microbes. After two minutes, the brush automatically stops.
Weighing in at 6 ounces and just 6 inches tall, and coming with its own travel case, the Be is marketed as perfect for oral hygiene on the go. The brush is currently being funded
through Kickstarter, and has already exceeded its fundraising goal by around 400 percent. Goodwell hope to ship the toothbrush to backers beginning in November 2018 and have it available online the following month. With this product, Goodwell hopes to improve both dental health and the environment. What other health products might also reduce waste?
Eco-friendly toothbrush is powered with a twistBilled as the first battery-free powered toothbrush, a new oral care device has in-built kinetic energy storage and is 100 percent recyclable.
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WHATBilled as the first battery-free powered toothbrush, a new oral care device has in-built kinetic energy storage and is 100 percent recyclable.
WHOGoodwell Company
WHEREUnited States
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Finland has the highest per capita energy consumption in the European Union. At the same time, the country has set the ambitious goal of producing 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. To help meet this goal, Finland invests in a variety of alternate forms of energy, such as wind power, hydroelectric power, and now - horse manure power. Finnish utility Fortum has developed a circular renewable energy service, dubbed HorsePower, that uses recycled materials to provide a bedding management service for stable-owners, as well
as energy. Wood by-products from Finland’s forest industry are first turned into horse bedding, which is delivered to stables. The company then collects the manure and used bedding from the stables and delivers it to Fortum’s power plant, where the waste is burned to generate heat and electricity.
Fortum’s HorsePower service will be using its service to provide 100 percent of the power for the entire Helsinki International Horse Show. During the event, Fortum HorsePower will deliver wood-based bedding to
the 250 horses attending the show. These horses will produce around 135 tonnes of the manure/bedding mixture, which will be transported to Fortum’s power plant and used to generate around 140 MWh – enough to power the lighting, scoreboards and all other electricity needs of the show.
Fortum HorsePower has illustrated how a circular system can take advantage of different types of waste to generate power. What other types of circular energy generation projects might be developed from overlooked sources of energy?
Utility company uses horse manure to power horse showA Finnish utility company has created a circular system for generating electricity from biological waste products.
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WHATA Finnish utility company has created a circular system for generating electricity from biological waste products.
WHOFortum
WHEREFinland
CONTACTwww.fortumhorsepower.comwww.fortumhorsepower.com/en/contact
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It is commonplace to manufacture toilet paper out of recycled paper, but it could soon also be commonplace to manufacture raw materials out of recycled toilet paper.
Dutch companies CirTec and KNN Cellulose launched a two-year pilot project, dubbed Cellvation, to study the financial feasibility of recycling used toilet paper. The project, which was underwritten with money from a European Union grant, will extract around 400 kilograms of cellulose from raw sewage each day. The cellulose is cleaned and sterilized, then turned into
pellets which can be used as construction materials. In one demonstration project, the cellulose was mixed with asphalt and used to pave a bicycle path. Adding a dose of cellulose into the mixture helps the asphalt stick to stones before it fully hardens and it can also make roadways less slippery when it rains.
The Netherlands is the perfect test case for recycling toilet paper. According to the country’s water authorities, around 180,000 tons of toilet paper are flushed each year, and much of this is luxury paper, which
contains high-quality cellulose. CirTec hopes that the project could eventually pay for itself in two ways. One is through sales of the cellulose. A small amount is already being exported to the UK, where it is being used as raw material to produce bio-composites. In addition, CirTec hopes that removing the heavy cellulose from the water treatment system will lower the operational cost of treating sewage and make it easier to treat the water that remains. What other uses could there be for recycled cellulose?
Used toilet paper helps pave a bike pathDutch companies have devised a way to recycle toilet into construction materials.
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WHATDutch companies have devised a way to recycle toilet into construction materials.
WHOCirTec
WHERENetherlands
CONTACTwww.cirtec.nlwww.cirtec.nl
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According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, each year around one-third of the food produced for human consumption — approximately 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted. Much of this waste is caused by throwing away food that has gone bad or is not fit for sale. But now there is a way to reuse food waste by turning it into plastics.
Full Cycle Bioplastics has developed the technology for converting organic waste into a naturally occurring polymer called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), that degrades
without harming the environment. Full Cycle’s process takes inedible food waste, agricultural by-products and used paper and cardboard, breaks these down and turns them into feedstock for naturally-occurring bacteria, which consume the waste and convert it into PHA. The PHA is then dried and processed into a finished resin, ready for use in the manufacture of anything from plastic forks to car parts. Used products made from PHA can later re-enter the recycling system and be used as feedstock to create new PHA.Rather than produce the bioplastics itself, Full
Cycle Bioplastics hopes to license its technology to large waste producers and handlers, such as landfills, food or beverage processors, and paper mills, who are then able to produce the bioplastic on site and sell on. The company estimates that a typical producer could generate between 75 and 500 USD of revenue per ton of waste processed. Could this model be applied to other types of recycling?
New process turns food waste into biodegradable plasticsA new company has devised a way to turn food and agricultural waste into bioplastics.
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WHATA new company has devised a way to turn food and agricultural waste into bioplastics.
WHOFull Cycle Bioplastics
WHEREUnited States
CONTACTwww.fullcyclebioplastics.comwww.fullcyclebioplastics.com/contact
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Alvaro Garcia, a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, has developed a new method of repairing roads using sunflower oil capsules. He got the idea from watching the Spanish version of the TV show MasterChef, where a contestant used the spherification technique – which is the controlled jellification of a liquid to form spheres – in a recipe.
Garcia's idea was to put oil capsules into the asphalt in the road-building process. Then, when the roads begin to crack, the capsules break open,
softening the asphalt and encouraging it to blend back together. This, Garcia believes, should both repair small faults in the road and also prevent more serious ones from occurring. “Our preliminary results showed that the capsules can resist the mixing and compaction processes without significantly reducing the physical and mechanical properties of asphalt,” says Garcia. “More importantly, we found that the cracked asphalt samples were restored to their full strength two days after the sunflower oil was released.” The capsules named 'Capheal'
could potentially increase a road's lifespan and save costs in the long term. The research is part of a bigger investigation on pavement engineering and sustainable materials within the Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centres.
Companies are constantly working on new ways to make road building more efficient and environmentally friendly. What other materials that could be added to asphalt to improve its durability?
Lecturer invents microcapsules to repair road surfacesA new method for self-healing asphalt could potentially increase a road's lifespan.
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WHATA new method for self-healing asphalt could potentially increase a road's lifespan.
WHOCapHeal
WHERESpain / United Kingdom
CONTACTwww.nottingham.ac.uk/www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering/contact
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Project Inside the Box was dreamed up by Lisanne Koning for her thesis project at Design Academy Eindhoven. The Dutch designer wished there could be room for children’s toys and games to be sent in relief packages, which can only contain essential food and medicine, and from there was born her innovative idea. The insides of the boxes are printed with colorful shapes and game boards which refugee children can assemble and play with. There is a board game which is similar to Candy Land for example, while she has also designed a
truck which children can cut out and build into a three-dimensional toy. Koning believes that play is essential for children in disaster-stricken areas as it can help them to cope. She thinks that every child deserves the right to play, and in her own words her project means that “the aid boxes are not wasted, but get a new life, brightening the days of the most vulnerable.”
This unique idea is yet to be put into practice, however it could mark the beginning of a trend to help children living in poverty in a broader sense. Inside the Box emphasizes
the importance of play in addition to meeting their basic needs such as food and water. How else could aid packages be adapted to bring joy to impoverished communities? Perhaps this project will inspire other creative ways to help those in need in an efficient way?
Designer creates supply boxes that double as toys for refugee childrenYoung Dutch designer wants to give new life to the cardboard boxes used to transport relief packages.
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WHATYoung Dutch designer wants to give new life to the cardboard boxes used to transport relief packages.
WHOInside the Box
WHERENetherlands
CONTACTwww.lisannekoning.nl/inside-the-boxwww.lisannekoning.nl/contact
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Qatar, hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, have designed a new stadium that can be disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere in a new configuration. The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, designed by Spain’s Fenwick Ibarren Architects, will be built from modular containers which can be slotted together to form the shell of the stadium, then dismantled and reused in another location.
The 40,000-seat arena will be located on the waterside just outside Doha, allowing the containers to arrive by ship and be quickly fitted into the frame of the
structure. Each container includes removable seats, toilets, food stands and merchandise concessions, allowing them to be used for stadiums in any number of designs and sizes. In a statement to FIFA, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, the Secretary General of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, stressed the advantages of a structure which could be repurposed for different uses.
The construction methods and modular design of the stadium will require fewer materials, and create less waste and a lower carbon footprint than traditionally-
constructed stadiums of a similar size. Due to its sustainable approach, the project received a four-star Global Sustainability Assessment System certification from the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development. Will the Ras Abu Aboud design be a blueprint for future tournaments that could broaden the range of countries able to host large events?
World’s first modular stadium to host 2022 World CupMatches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in a stadium designed to be taken apart and reconstructed elsewhere in a new configuration.
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WHATMatches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in a stadium designed to be taken apart and reconstructed elsewhere in a new configuration.
WHOFenwick Ibarren Architects
WHEREQatar / Spain
CONTACTwww.fenwickiribarren.comwww.fenwickiribarren.com/contact
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More and more households now include two working parents and getting children to school on time can be tricky. With Uber passengers needing to be at least 18-years of age to ride alone, three LA moms have come up with a solution with a ridesharing app called HopSkipDrive, which focuses on safety.
All drivers have to have prior experience working with children as, for example, teachers or nannies. Before hiring a driver, the company conducts thorough security checks which include fingerprinting, requiring drivers to be members of
the TrustLine registry (the most stringent checks for those working with children in LA), ride-alongs, reference checks, driver training and meeting each driver personally. As co-founder and head of policy Carolyn Yashari Becher notes, “We’re incredibly proud of the 15 point safety certification process”.
Unlike Uber, the app is not on-demand. Users schedule the time they want the ride and are sent a driver profile and secret password in advance, information which they then share with their children. The app also features GPS tracking so
parents can follow the journey.
HopSkipDrive is currently available in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and hopes to expand to other regions in the near future. Springwise has covered a number of Uber variations: a Brazilian car service which provides armored vehicles and drivers trained in defensive driving; and female-only ridesharing services that employs women drivers for female and transgender customers. Are there still more innovations of this nature that could support a circular economy?
Uber for the school runLA-based moms start a safe taxi service that parents can order for their kids.
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WHATLA-based moms start a safe taxi service that parents can order for their kids.
WHOHopSkipDrive
WHEREUnited States
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One of Springwise’s highlights of 2014 was the Swiss initiative Pumpipumpe, which encouraged neighbors to lend each other items by putting the relevant stickers on their mailboxes. Now, Peerby from Amsterdam is a high-tech version of that same idea, and enables people to borrow expensive items from their neighbors, rather than splashing out on new products.
Based on the knowledge that 80 percent of items are used less than once a month, Peerby is an app that helps people engage with the sharing economy
and live a little greener and cheaper. To begin, lenders download the app and list all items they would be happy to lend out. It can be anything from a lawnmower to a disco ball. Then borrowers can search the database for a particular item they need or browse categories for nearby offers. When they find what they are looking for they can negotiate with the owner within the app and arrange to meet and borrow the item. Borrowers can also create posts with requests for items that they haven’t been able to find.
Could the app work in other countries too?
Localized sharing economy app for neighborsPeerby is a sharing economy app that enables people to borrow items from their neighbors, rather than splash out on new products.
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WHATPeerby is a sharing economy app that enables people to borrow items from their neighbors, rather than splash out on new products.
WHOPeerby
WHERENetherlands
CONTACTwww.peerby.com/www.peerby.com/contact
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As drone use continues to grow, we’re seeing infrastructure develop to support the growing network, with recent spottings including flight insurance and dedicated drone airports. Now, a peer-to-peer drone rental service is in development.
With Up Sonder, drone owners list their vehicles and availability and then users - who require them for specific tasks, such as weddings or sporting events - are able to request a rental. The selected drones are then delivered direct to users via a collaboration with UberRUSH (the
Uber offshoot business-to-business courier). Owners are free to set their own prices - though recommendations are provided - with Up Sonder taking a small percentage of transactions (some of which is used to fund global clean water projects). Up Sonder also insures all drones in case of accidental damage while out on loan. Currently in beta, Up Sonder is available in New York, San Francisco and Chicago with free signup.New uses for drones are being developed on a daily basis: what other services are required to support their use?
Peer-to-peer drone rental serviceUp Sonder platform offers peer-to-peer drone rentals, using UberRUSH to deliver drones to users.
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WHATUp Sonder platform offers peer-to-peer drone rentals, using UberRUSH to deliver drones to users.
WHOUp Sonder
WHEREUnited States
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Keeping up with the latest in designer fashion can be both expensive and frustrating. But what if you could have instant access to a wide variety of quality garments, which you can wear once and then return?
Toronto’s Boro Clothing provides a peer-to-peer marketplace and lending library to allow women to rent items of fashionable clothing worth at least CAD 300 in retail value, and which are less than two years old. Lenders send their clothes to Boro, along with descriptions and photos, and the company manages the transaction,
including pickup and delivery to and from the ‘Boro’er’. The company also handles all repairs and dry cleaning, and will compensate owners if garments are destroyed or irreparably damaged. Lenders can request their clothes back at any time. Borrowers do not have to pay if the garment does not fit, and lenders receive their money just twenty-four hours after the garment is delivered to the borrower. With prices starting at around CAD 30 for a four-day dress rental, Boro allows women to wear clothing at an affordable price, while lenders make money from
their little-used clothing.
Currently, Boro only operates in the Toronto area, but the company’s long-term goal is to become the first place everyone goes when they are looking to shop for an upcoming event. In doing so, the company hopes to be able to reduce waste in the fashion industry, and make it possible for women to always look their best at a reasonable price. It is already possible to rent drones, luxury jewelry, and designer glasses - what else might benefit from the peer-to-peer rental treatment?
Peer-to-peer designer clothing rental starts up in TorontoNew clothing lender Boro allows customers to rent designer fashion and help save waste and expense.
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WHATNew clothing lender Boro allows customers to rent designer fashion and help save waste and expense.
WHOBoro Clothing
WHERECanada
CONTACTwww.boroclothing.cawww.boroclothing.ca/contact-us
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We have seen increasingly new and exciting ways to drink water on the go, whether to encourage young Japanese people to read more print news or ensure children stay hydrated. Spain-based company Closca has come up with an innovative way to find, carry and drink water on the move whilst reducing plastic waste.
The water bottle comes with the Closca Water App which locates the nearest place where users can refill the water bottle for free. With over 56,000 refill stations worldwide the app is convenient and efficient, encouraging the use of
reusable bottles instead of plastic. The water bottle has been specially designed, it is 100% BPA-free, has dual opening to facilitate cleaning and allow the insertion of ice or tea. The base is made from borosilicate glass, and the bottle features a fidlock magnet buckle which, together with the silicone strap system allows the bottle to be attached to a rucksack, pram or bike for example. Consumers can benefit from the convenience offered by the bottle in addition to reducing their plastic consumption, thus benefiting the planet. The project is
currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and is available for pre-order via the company’s website.
This water bottle is unique as it works alongside an app to make the consumer’s life as easy as possible with regards to water consumption. How could products and apps work together in the future? Could such technology be used to reduce waste and pollution in other areas of life?
Smart water bottle helps users find nearest refill stationProduct design and app combine to create a more convenient and sustainable way to drink water on the go.
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WHATProduct design and app combine to create a more convenient and sustainable way to drink water on the go.
WHOClosca
WHERESpain
CONTACTclosca.com/closca.com/pages/contact
This report has been compiled by the Springwise Editorial team.Powered by a network of over 20,000 Springspotters in 190+ countries, Springwise curates and publishes the most exciting global innovations every day. The Springwise database provides the most up to date innovation intelligence in the world — to help you navigate the future and create positive change. CEOs, Innovators and Leaders from around the world are already gaining innovation advantage by tapping into a global source of knowledge and insight that is helping them to fast-track product, business and market innovations.
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