Current economic systems usually function in such a way that goods are produced, sold to the consumer and finally disposed of by the consumer at some point. This principle works excellently in capitalist systems to generate profits.

At the same time, however, the well-being of the planet is left out of the equation. In this article, we show you how circular design could change this and what it means for packaging.

What is Circularity by Design?

Let's first look at how profit is generated in our current economic system:

1. You remove resources from a certain place. These could be metals or wood, but also materials for the production of electricity.

2. You convert resources into products that you can sell. Smartphones, tables, drinks, electricity - everything is possible, as long as you can sell it.

3. Consumers buy your product and consume it either quickly (electricity) or over a longer period of time (smartphones). After that, it is almost or completely worthless.

The problem with these actions is that they do not take into account the finite nature of the earth's resources. If we continue as we are doing now, sooner or later we will have exhausted our resources.

By definition, these practices are not sustainable. They may work now - but what about 50 or 100 years from now? Moreover, as resources are increasingly extracted, they will become more and more expensive over time. A good example is the car: If crude oil becomes rarer and thus more expensive, gasoline will also become more expensive.

At some point, only wealthy people will be able to afford to drive (or be driven). Switching to electric drives already combats this problem, because electricity theoretically falls from the sky for free through our sun.

Circularity by Design in detail

Circular economies work differently. As the name suggests, in this economic system you would not buy a product and simply throw it away at the end of its life cycle. Instead, products or even services enter a cycle that, in the best case, never ends.

 

You could imagine a modular smartphone for this. Let's take a quick look at the current concept: Smartphones are difficult or impossible to repair by the user. At the end of their life, they are disposed of. You can't open them up, take out components and reuse them. Most components are difficult to recycle - a major environmental problem.

Modular smartphones like the Fairphone work differently:

1. You can open the smartphone without needing much prior knowledge.

2. You can replace many components - like the display or the battery.

3. Nothing is stuck, you can reach every component and change it with enough expertise.

For usage behavior, this leads to major differences.

The modular smartphone in the circuit

Such a modular smartphone is put into circulation once and can theoretically stay there forever. You can simply replace the components if they become defective. The product does not have an end of life, but could still be used in 20 years with the right care.

In practice, this is unlikely because the performance would no longer be sufficient at some point. However, things would look different if the modularity was even more sophisticated so that the processor could be changed.

If such a system were to become established, it would have a significant (positive) impact on the issue of sustainability - even for packaging in which this design philosophy is already being used to some extent.

Reuse, don't throw away! Circular Design emphasizes the importance of materials remaining in the commodity cycle to combat climate change.

 

What is the goal of Circular Design?

In general, the aim is to establish more sustainable economic systems. In order to avert climate damage and the associated dangers, the continued generation of waste and CO2 emissions is no longer sustainable.

Politicians have recognized this, and the EU, for example, has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2050. However, the economy still has to follow suit and also question whether the desire for ever more growth will not eventually come to an end.

The task of circular economies is therefore, among other things, to redesign products and services. The focus is no longer on maximum profit, but on the question of how materials, once introduced into the system, can be used for as long as possible.

The coffee cup made of disposable plastic, which is used once and thrown away immediately, offers itself as a shining counterexample to this idea.

Tools currently used in Circular Design

Economic systems of this kind cannot be built overnight. At the moment, attempts are being made to address the problem in the following way:

1. Understanding systems: First, we need to understand what system we are in in thefirst place.We use products in certain ways. How does this affect their production and the planet? Once that's established, we can figure out how to cycle these issues.

   

2. Accepting challenges: Transforming linear economies into cycles requires work. Somewhere, we will encounter stumbling blocks that make it difficult for us to transform into a cycle. So let's look at where we need to start - for example, through improved repairs (as with the smartphone I mentioned), recycling or better product quality.

3. Design loops: Once all the challenges are identified, we can design circular systems that eliminate these problems. Single-use plastic bottles could be replaced with reusable bottles to return them to the commodity cycle.

4. Let's go! Once all tasks are defined, the business cycle starts. If something does not work, you can start again at point 1 and implement improvements.

The task is thus quite difficult and requires more or less complex solutions depending on the industry.

Concrete use cases for Circularity by Design

In many areas of everyday life, these concepts have already arrived - but not yet always across the board. Examples include:

1. Some manufacturers (such as Loop, which is only based in the USA) sell everyday products such as shower gel bottles or jars for jam. These are not thrown away after use, but simply filled with new contents. So you wouldn't buy a new shower gel plus bottle, but just the shower gel and fill it into the existing bottle. The bottle thus remains in the cycle and only the contents are actually consumed.

Many second-hand stores are part of a commodity cycle. You can buy something there, perhaps a jacket, wear it for a while and sell it again - as long as it is not damaged. In this case, the material also remains in the commodity cycle much longer than if you were to simply dispose of the jacket.

Even little things in everyday life can help. You use a reusable cloth bag for shopping and not a disposable plastic bag? That's another example of circular design.

 

Circular design in packaging: How can the concept be implemented?

In part, circular design already works. In the case of the aforementioned returnable bottles, reuse provides a major benefit to the environment. Returnable PET bottles, for example, have a lower carbon footprint than glass bottles, even though plastic is much more difficult to recycle than glass.

Due to the very frequent reuse and thus the fact that the reusable bottle remains in the goods cycle, a strong, sustainable effect is nevertheless created. This concept also already applies to shipping packaging - if we use the right material.

In this respect, corrugated board in particular has established itself as a material that can implement circular design very well.

The circular properties of corrugated board

A look at the figures already confirms that packaging made of simple corrugated board has very good properties:

• In Europe, 56 percent of the energy needed to produce corrugated packaging comes from biomass There are no practical reasons that would prevent an expansion to 100 percent renewable energy.

• Around 80 percent of all the raw materials required for a completely new cardboard box come from forests that are managed sustainably - so there is no clearing of animal habitats.

• Water is necessary for recycling. However, 95 percent of this water is simply reused, and only 5 percent is lost. This means that no important groundwater has to be "tapped.

• 85 percent of all packaging material is finally recycled and incorporated into new cartons or other items.

The latter figure in particular is important. It shows that the absolute majority of the material remains in the cycle. If you throw away a shipping carton at home, this means that 85 percent of this material will be reused elsewhere.

The use of cardboard boxes for shipping is therefore an example of circular design: the cardboard enters circulation, is used, recycled and almost completely reused.

Conclusion: Rethinking economics - also for packaging

To usher in a greener, more sustainable future, new ways of thinking are needed. Maximum profit can no longer be the focus much longer.

Instead, in the future all products and services must also be designed with sustainability in mind. Many types of packaging have already arrived there through strong recycling values or are well on their way there.

FAQ

1. Can Circular Design Really Work?
   Our economic system is not a natural constant that simply exists. We have devised it ourselves over millennia, and in the same way we can replace or expand it with a better, more sustainable system.

2. What would be the consequences of switching to circular economies?
   If we were to switch the entire economy to sustainability, this would have serious results. Numerous products would no longer belong to us, but would only be rented - as in the case of car sharing, for example, which utilizes vehicles significantly better than private cars.

 

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