{"id":12662,"title":"Read: Going Full Circle","description":"Somewhere along the way we forgot why we invented the idea of companies. It was never meant to be about disadvantaging others, or harming the environment.\u00a0Those that lead companies have the power to change the World for the better. We should challenge them to navigate with the right questions.","content":"

Somewhere along the way perhaps people forgot why we invented the idea of companies. The idea <\/em>enables people to formally join forces and solve problems that cannot be solved alone. Profit enables society to reward The Team for The Solution. The bigger the problem the bigger the prize for the products that improve the lives of other humans. It\u2019s a brilliant, simple idea. And the name comes from that well-meaning place: Comme, Pan: Breaking bread together. It was never meant to be about disadvantaging others, or harming the environment, or our future.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0So when we consider why, deep down, everybody knows something has gone badly wrong to have led to this global disconnect between our Economy and our Environment, perhaps what has been forgotten is that companies were always meant to be about both.<\/em><\/p>

\"\"Change in Fashion means traceability, but then doing something about what you find<\/em><\/p>

Yet even in a creative industry like fashion, there is a reason why change seems impossible. If we assume a linear model of take, make, dispose, there are limits on what can be done, even what can be imagined. The best answer to Fast Fashion so far is the counterslogan, Slow Fashion. There is some truth in it: Buying less would slow it down and buy us time. But it assumes the model stays the same. But isn\u2019t slowing down just delaying the same outcome? Because even if we halved all waste worldwide the outcome would be one truck burned or buried every two seconds, instead of every one. Reduction is not an ambition or a goal: It's meaningless to aim for the same amount of pollution but in 10 years time instead of 5.<\/em><\/p>

Instead of slow fashion, let\u2019s Change Fashion<\/u><\/em>. Instead of business as usual but a bit less bad, why not ask what a redesign of Fashion itself might look like.\u00a0<\/p>

To be clear, we are talking about changing companies, not consumers.\u00a0 If designers only create products from extracted resources that are made to be thrown away, then consumers only have one choice - linear consumption and waste. How is one option a choice?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The solution isn\u2019t to buy less. It\u2019s for companies to think more. Designers choose what to make and how to make it.\u00a0 That\u2019s where stuff comes from. Consumer Behavioural Change<\/em> is the\u00a0 \u201cBrexit means Brexit\u201d<\/em> of the sustainability conversation. Garbage.<\/p>

Different products are not a choice if they follow the same linear model.\u00a0 If everything is designed to be thrown away, consumers have no choice.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>

When we realise the model is the problem, there are serious and credible grounds for long term hope and optimism, because a business model is a choice. Companies float on the tide of the economy, but they're not pooh sticks. Each has its own rudder and captains whose job it is to decide where to go. This is what investors, Managers and Directors are actually meant to do for a living. And those leaders might reasonably be asked, if your company is afloat and moving anyway, why not go to somewhere cool that is positive and exciting for future generations? We don\u2019t even need all the answers before setting sail. A question is a start. Seeking the answers unlocks the spirit of adventure, meaning and purpose in people. It aligns teams and builds cultures. Hey Suits, do your job.<\/p>

Questions lead to answers. Whomadeyourclothes is a great start, now let's do What They're Made From, Why Are They Made That Way, What Happens After That and Why.<\/p>

Start at traceability, but then do something about what you find<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>

Everyone wants to talk about sustainability. And T-shirt slogans are conversation starters. The designs can be exciting and the ideas valuable. But if the t-shirts themselves are made from plastic and end up in landfill, it\u2019s just talk.<\/p>

\"\"For fashion to be part of the sustainability conversation, the foundations of supply chain decisions need integrity<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0Starting with the problem is a good start. At Teemill we work together on technology to fix this because it's a big problem, that requires a big solution, and we can\u2019t do it alone. At the beginning we decided to make clothes from natural materials instead of plastic, using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. It was crazy how it was more expensive to do that. But the organic cotton being thrown away at the end is the very same material used at the start. Hopefully you can see it jump off the page like we did.\u00a0 By making the end and the start the same thing, so waste is the raw material, there is no waste.\u00a0<\/p>

\"\"\"\"
\"\"Reprocessing worn out products into new ones designs out waste at Teemill<\/a>, saves money and makes sustainability affordable<\/em><\/p>

We needed technology to digitise and automate the cost out of the system. As the material at the end is valuable to us back at the start, this also means we can incentivise that material recovery. A different approach leads to a different outcome: Everyone is then better off for keeping material flowing, and in use.\u00a0<\/p>

Having done that for real, yes, it is seriously challenging. Designing a product to be made back into itself, from itself, is harder. The economy pushes back too, at first with increased localised costs in design or recovery incentives, reverse logistics and handling. Later on, you hit regulations, like ones that stop waste being moved country to country. It feels like going the wrong way, uphill, barefoot, and over glass. But the basis - waste saved is money saved - holds as true as North all the time. We committed to our destination when we set out. After a while, the uphill turns to downhill. Then it gets exciting.<\/p>

Like when material starts to return from customers. From the other side, there are some interesting dynamics to report back. What do you actually call a customer, if they are also now your supplier? What do you call waste if it's not that? How do you tell a story of a product if there isn\u2019t a beginning or an end? And did those people buy a product from us at all, or did they rent the material in that form? What did they actually buy?<\/p>

We talked about having to reimagine new ways of doing business. When we reach the edges of vocabulary and need new words for things, that's progress.<\/p><\/blockquote>

What makes progress possible more than anything is the conscientious application of technology. Clothing is generally mass produced speculatively and around 40% of clothing manufactured is never utilised. That is wasteful. The solution is to build a different type of factory where things are made in real time, in the seconds after they are ordered. There is software, and hardware, but really it's about only printing what people need, when they need it. 40% reduction in waste, and in cost, makes a difference.<\/p>

\"\"The proceeds from technology efficiencies fund advances in sustainability, enabling it to be economical and competitive<\/em><\/p>

Wherever there is waste, there is an opportunity. Organic cotton costs more on paper per KG, but it costs half that per item if you remake the t-shirt twice. Robotics pay off the increased cost of plastic free packaging. And sharing our tech with other brands spreads the cost for all: The Teemill platform<\/a> enables anyone with an internet connection to build an online store, create and sell their designs fulfilled by us. Anyone can start a brand built on a circular model from day one. Maybe the most important thing to come from Teemill is the idea that you don\u2019t have to be just a consumer any more, you can co-create as a circular producer. That\u2019s now a choice.<\/p>

People need more than just the will. They need a way.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>

But in this, the message here is not that 'Solutions Exist'. It\u2019s to show that solutions lead to success. So the sustainability conversation should be reframed away from an obligation to do the right thing, and recast as the opportunity of a lifetime. Your humble writer is wearing a t-shirt that is both old and new,\u00a0 both more profitable and better for the environment, and the technology that solved that problem is scaling exponentially.\u00a0<\/p>

What appear to many as mountains of waste are, and always were, mountains of gold.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>

\u00a0How to quantify the scale of that opportunity? It\u2019s the size of all The Waste in the World.<\/p>

Those that lead companies have the power to change the World for the better. They steer the ship. We should challenge them to navigate with the right question. Like a compass, it's a check on direction. Here\u2019s an example for companies today: If we grow, will this company truly benefit life on Earth?<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>The stronger the answer, the stronger the company, and the stronger the potential value created for people and our environment.\u00a0<\/p>

To go full circle, this is why companies exist in the first place.<\/p>

<\/p>

To keep more textile waste out of landfill, we need you to go to your wardrobe and help to keep that material flowing. Send your worn out Rapanui products back to us at backtorapanui.com<\/a>. Yours sincerely, the planet.<\/p>","urlTitle":"circular-fashion-traceability-and-the-business-economy","url":"\/blog\/circular-fashion-traceability-and-the-business-economy\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/circular-fashion-traceability-and-the-business-economy\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/rapanuiclothing.com\/blog\/circular-fashion-traceability-and-the-business-economy\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1630433339,"updatedAt":1651220688,"publishedAt":1636979726,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":14,"name":"Rapanui"},"tags":[{"id":25,"code":"values","name":"values","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/values\/"},{"id":411,"code":"read","name":"read","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/read\/"}],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/q6r7jt5fjaiutp0hdoc7c1ldtss46ynrzyhg1lqrbc3opiwb.png","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/q6r7jt5fjaiutp0hdoc7c1ldtss46ynrzyhg1lqrbc3opiwb.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/q6r7jt5fjaiutp0hdoc7c1ldtss46ynrzyhg1lqrbc3opiwb.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"Going Full Circle","metaDescription":"Waste traceability is crucial to end fashion industry pollution. Asking the right questions is key. Where clothes end up is the starting point for us.","keyPhraseCampaignId":3921,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":10545,"title":"Get Involved: Let The Kids Shred","url":"\/blog\/get-involved-let-the-kids-shred\/","urlTitle":"get-involved-let-the-kids-shred","division":14,"description":"Internet businesses have the power to reach people all over the world. That\u2019s why we're asking you to help us use the internet to enable kids on the Isle of Wight to shred a new skatepark. Read on to get involved, and help bring more kickflips and powerslides memories to the world.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/5yxxclqnedjtbgpzdefdou67tikwpgnuygpcfg2wwfk8tip1.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/5yxxclqnedjtbgpzdefdou67tikwpgnuygpcfg2wwfk8tip1.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":21251,"title":"In pursuit of the perfect Breton tee","url":"\/blog\/perfect-breton-top\/","urlTitle":"perfect-breton-top","division":14,"description":"To find the best things in life, it's often worth going back to the start. For this ex-fashion editor, that means the Breton stripes she wore as a kid... and now she's found her favourite of all time.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/xx8weituplnlucjlhsof6qqqcaunfzmavkpwsqcncoeksbxh.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&z=1.4&fx=0.52255639097744&fy=0.36124401913876","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/xx8weituplnlucjlhsof6qqqcaunfzmavkpwsqcncoeksbxh.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&z=1.4&fx=0.52255639097744&fy=0.36124401913876"},"hidden":0},{"id":22175,"title":"Why do we actually need raincoats? (spoiler: probably not to climb Everest)","url":"\/blog\/why-do-we-actually-need-raincoats-spoiler-probably-not-to-climb-everest\/","urlTitle":"why-do-we-actually-need-raincoats-spoiler-probably-not-to-climb-everest","division":14,"description":"Why it took us 5 years to perfect our organic cotton, PFC-free, circular rain jackets and ponchos. No forever chemicals here.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/b4ggcs1absl1wivydbqulb7wccfd6owupxo1qmbkwynzpiyp.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/b4ggcs1absl1wivydbqulb7wccfd6owupxo1qmbkwynzpiyp.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":{"monitorCheckExcluded":"1"}}