What is the circular economy?

Have you checked out marketplaces like Decluttr, Back Market, Reebelo, and Trademore? These platforms let you buy and sell used, refurbished electronics such as iPhones, tablets, and laptops.

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This extends the life of existing products, reduces e-waste, and makes high-quality tech more affordable for people.

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These brands operate on a circular business model.

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What is a circular business model?

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Since the Industrial Revolution, we've followed a linear economy: take resources from the planet, make products, and dispose of them as waste. This waste ends up in landfills and oceans, polluting our air, water, and soil, and impacting everyone on the planet.

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The linear economy focuses on maximizing production and consumption, but it's unsustainable.

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A circular economy aims to keep products in use as long as possible by reducing, reusing, and recycling. While we still extract resources for initial products, these products are designed to be durable and easily repairable, extending their lifespan and reducing the need for frequent replacements.

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The sustainable grooming brand Leaf Shave is a great example of a circular business model.

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Leaf Shave’s circular business model

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Disposable plastic razors are easy to use, but they often end up in landfills because they're hard to recycle.

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Leaf Shave changes this with a circular business model. Their plastic-free razors have a metal handle and three stainless steel blades.

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Instead of tossing the whole razor, you can just replace the blades and reuse the handle.

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When the blades wear out, you can recycle them at a local metal scrapyard or send them back to Leaf for recycling. Since they're made of a single material, recycling them is easier.

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Like Leaf Shave, many other brands promote the circular economy. Here are some of our favorites:

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Allbirds Rerun: A marketplace for buying, re-selling, and trading in gently used Allbirds products.
Wolven: Activewear and swimwear made from recycled bottles.
Ruby Lane: Online marketplace to buy and sell items such as collectibles, art, furniture, lighting, jewelry, dolls, pottery, fashion, and silver.
StockX: Marketplace to buy and sell premium streetwear, electronics, collectibles, trading cards, and accessories.
Blueland: Reusable, refillable, and plastic-free cleaning products.
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