Workshop: Brands with a conscience in a circular economy

The old great video you can find on YouTube and the story of stuff explaining how we move from a linear economy into a circular economy. There are several definitions but there is the same code for branding. One of them is from Marcel de Hollander who says it's about extending the lifetime of the product. So if we are able to do so, we can extend the useful lifetime of a product. Then we are also contributing to a circular economy. Nancy Bocke, who is also a co-author of Circular Business, says it's about, well, we can reuse and renew but it's about closing, slowing and narrowing resource loops. And, well, I'm not quite sure if you're all familiar with this graph but this is from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and it actually explains about, you could say, the resource and material loops that we are trying to close. And we're going to work a bit on the right side of this graph later. But from a branding point of view, Simon, and from an identity and a visual identity and a simple message, what do you think of this graph when you see this? You're just trying to read it. Is it attractive enough, you think? Too complicated, yes. Too complicated. So I was thinking, can branding, as you know, the way that we look at the world, accelerate circular business? And that's actually our goal for today. But it's not an easy task. We struggle and we see brands also tapping into the thinking and applying it in the way that they deliver to their stakeholders. And sometimes they make progress and sometimes they fail. So it's an open learning area, you could say. And one of the things that we know about successful circular business pilots is that collaboration is key because there are so many stakeholders in the whole value chain and it's a complex question. So you need to open up and collaborate in order to be successful. And I've told you, I think, four years ago now something about Daiko, which is a Dutch firm, and they are really impressive in their technology because they can dye textiles without using any water. And it has huge environmental and economical impact. But the question is, if you are a global leading brand and you adopt this new way of, you could say, producing sports shirts, do you then need to add a sub-brand for yourself? So here's Adidas and they do use this technology and they sub-branded it dry dye. And on the right is Nike and they sub-branded it color dry. So one of the branding challenges is about if you are to seek a distinctive positioning and on the other hand we can all benefit the whole world, everyone in it, people working in this business from this new technology, how much do we need to decide that it's a distinctive promise or should we include in a maybe global branding strategy between competitors? So that's something I want to think about later. We also know that consumption-driven product design complicates the business model transformation. So we know that if it's a fast-moving consumer goods, we are trying to come up with circular business ideas, but it's very complex because it's a very low margin business. And maybe the same goes for, although for smartphones it should be possible and Fairphone is doing a really good job in creating a more circular smartphone. This is a promotion Photophone ran last year and it's actually stimulating changing your smartphone every year, which is not such a circular way of doing business. And we know that although H&M is doing extensive investments, spending a lot of time and energy coming up with this question on, well, you could say durability or sustainability of fashion, they are one of the large embracers of the recycle week. It still doesn't feel really natural to their business model currently, you know, promoting, coming to the store every two weeks, three weeks when it's a new collection change and then buying something new and then recycling is part of it, but there's still a friction there. So to what extent can brands stretch their business model and how easy is the change going to be once we've long promoted maximized consumerism? And then there's the question of reverse logistics. So in a circular business, you have to think about getting back, reuse, renew the material loop, the resources. And you can imagine that if you are carefully crafting your customer's experience, maybe this is not the best experience that you want to share and neither is this from a scent marketing point of view. Although Nike Grint, this is reuse a shoe, which is the starter program Nike and then they started this Nike Grint. So they used the rubber, for instance, for athletic sport. Is that a good word, Nick, athletic sport? Oh, you don't. So where do you run? A running track. I'm sorry, a running track. So they used the rubber from the sneakers to build a running track from, which is a great business model, but you can imagine reverse logistics here being a problem. So what is the impact when you are carefully shaping your brand experience? There's all kinds of challenges that we need to think about. And now I want to ask your help. So let's say we own a brand, a jeans company. Do you like that? How many of you are wearing jeans? What jeans are you wearing? Do you know that, Nick? No? Do you? Swedish. Do you know what jeans you're wearing? No? It's Swedish. So how conscious were you when you bought these jeans? What were the reasons for buying these jeans? Okay. Okay. So that's the financial argument. My reason is my old jeans were broken. Your old jeans were broken? Too old. Okay. Okay. And you couldn't fix them anymore? Okay. And you only have one jeans then, sir, okay? No. Okay. So let's pretend we own these because we all love jeans, don't we? They are comfortable. I ran by the window of a shop this morning and it literally said, well, it's so comfortable wearing jeans. It almost feels like you're naked. Well, I don't know if that's the image that we want to, but well, we all, you know, jeans are important for us. So it's not a good idea to just ditch them because jeans is one of the, you could say, most polluting industries in the world. Do you know why? Yes. Yeah. It's just the use of water. Yes. Fertilizers, pesticides. And let's say we aim to improve the world with the brand that we own and we offer timeless jeans, but we want to be more than a denim company. Our jeans are forced for good. We dare to be different. Isn't that in the spirit of Medinga? And we show this by bringing positive narratives about how jeans will better the world. And well, you may now look at my ass because I'm wearing my jeans and it's fresh jeans without damaging the environment. And it makes me feel guilt free. So I'm really aware of the problems with jeans. And then when I have to buy jeans, I try to be a bit more aware of the jeans that I buy. So I can say it gives me a guilt free experience. What's so special about this? Yeah, good, good. Thank you. There has been no use of chemicals. It's organic cotton. And we all know yesterday we had a discussion about 11%. So I'm not quite sure if it's all, all, all. I have to check with Bert. But organic is like moving up in the world, raising the bar, doing it better for the environment. If water is required, it ensures a closed circuit for 100% recycling. And it also uses laser instead of stone washing. So you could say the whole production of these jeans is improving the way that we usually make jeans. And also producing the first carbon neutral pair of jeans. So everything is taken into account when these jeans is being made from an environmental point of view. This is the group that we're aiming up at, you know, with our brand. Yes. Yeah, they, I forgot the name, but they recently launched a collaboration with a packaging firm which is also eco-friendly and tries to reduce its environmental impact. So they're really, really working out throughout the whole value chain the best way possible to deliver these jeans to me. So here's a our target group, you could say, the Aspirational's. They love their style, social status, and sustainability is important for me. I think some of you are in the room, are really connecting to this group. I know one of them is, from your remarks yesterday, do you feel yourself, do you see yourself as an aspirational? Do you recognize that you love style, social status, but also sustainability values? Yeah. That's interesting because you told me, yeah, I'm leading the witness. I am leading the witness. I'm sorry. So can we combine all our thinking, our knowledge, our expertise and come up with a circular value proposition? So here's first thing to do. I would like you to brainstorm and I think maybe it's good to just wander around because that's good for thinking as well, isn't it? And instead of sitting and sharing with your neighbor. And we're going to work on this part of the Eleanor Carter-based model. So what you can see, there's actually four ways in which we can, well, create a circular business. We can start with recycling. And then we can start with the recycling, which would have been a good idea for your old jeans, Sergey. I don't know what you did with it. What did you do with the one set? It's top secret. So big chance it's garbage now. No, no, no, please don't tell me everything. Can we also look at parts harvesting? So we use it in other solutions. We can refurbish the jeans. Your jeans would have been maybe perfect for doing so. And maybe we can even come up with a surface model for jeans. And I was hoping if all of you, so there's four windows. And the recycle window, parts harvesting, refurbish and surface. And can you take a post-it note and write down all functional and emotional benefits that each way of business modeling would offer to these aspirational? It's just free. It's a brainstorm. No wrong answers. Everything is good. But it's just about if you think about recycling, what would be the functional benefit and what for me would be the emotional benefit. Same goes for parts harvesting. And that's, well, first part of this workshop. What? Nothing. Oh, okay. Do you know them, Maurice? Yes. I'm not sure. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. 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I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. So are you all more or less done? Are you all more or less ready? Should we take a look at them? Should we take a look at all the things that we came up with? Can you hear me or am I too soft? Dear all, can I have your attention? Because you are so productive. I thought it's nice to look at all the things that we've written down. So can I invite you to join me for this part, the recycling part? So guys, listen to each other please. Because it's interesting. Here's some really good items on the feeling that a more circular jeans would give me. And I know you all spoke to me about jeans being a very tough industry to change. I'm well aware of that, but well, we'll have to start somewhere, isn't it? And here you say it's the feeling of not overspending, though I am. Anyone want to comment on that set from you? Yeah, and then there's this other, this probably is yours as well. It's also the feeling of gift giving. And then gift giving to who? Can you elaborate a bit on that? Yeah, I would suppose if I recycled my jeans that someone else would benefit from it. I could imagine some poor girl in Africa wearing them or something. I like that image and that would make me feel better for the overspending part of my life. Okay, so it's not a direct gift giving, but it's giving back to the rest of the community. Inspired to a greener lifestyle? Anything, just a comment? It's just when you start to recycle your clothes, you also become this person. And if people ask you like, okay, why are you recycling your clothes? Because I'm a green person, so you buy organic food as well. Yes, I do, because if I didn't do that, me as a person wouldn't fit into this green world. So I think it's helped us to become greener. It's like in Norway it's really trendy to be green, but that's a good start. Okay, thank you. So Sincos, I think for better conscience about your material spending, integrity, I do the right thing. Oh, yeah, that's my comment about knowing that you are doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. So it's basically for your own self-purpose kind of stuff. So me showing my mud jeans is showing off then, or is it inspirational? It's more like a personal thing that you don't have to show off. It's an inner feeling that you know that you are, like when I go to the container station and recycle my old furniture, whatever it could be. It's just knowing that it's right. It's a very emotional part. And this one is also emotional, being part of something bigger. Who is it from? Green. Oh, green. Sharing, being part of something bigger. Sharing, it's about sharing, being part of something bigger. Yeah, doing the recycling thing. So I think it's part of what Fenja said before, like the world is connected somehow. Yeah, and understanding that and being part of something bigger. Yeah, okay. Well, interesting enough, because in the recycling there's lots of these emotional benefits, maybe a bit more even than in the other ones. Do you find that difficult to describe emotional benefits for the other business models? More common than that, I think recycling as a concept is more well-known and more common to all of us than the part harvesting and some of the other concepts down the line. Okay, okay, that's good. Just to understand it. There are some common advantages when we talk about the emotional, because I think all of them just give the feeling of doing right. So there's like a basic, like I know I'm not throwing it out and it's bad, I'm actually doing the right thing, and I think that's common for all of them. And then they have some other advantages, each of them. Is it easy to tap into this recycling day as a first step? Yeah, I think so. Okay, thank you. And parts harvesting, anyone want to comment on this? Splitting things between stakeholders. Sanjay, if I may say, I think a word that I was missing there is upcycling. Because a lot of people actually, the recycling, what we don't like is it's still wasted, just going into being destroyed for something to come out. Whereas upcycling is taking the little pieces and doing something more, and that's where the parts come into it, but it's also pumping up what's left. So it could be anything that's raising it upwards or using the jeans to add value to something else. We see more of that trend. Yeah. Okay. This is also a nice one, work with prisons to remake jeans into jackets. That was a project that was started in the UK where they were training prisoners in tailoring. And unfortunately our enlightened government decided to shut it down as an initiative. But it was a really nice way to take something, train people, it could be whether they're prisoners or other people, to learn a skill and then create something new from it. So that was a project that sort of actually happened but then got shut down. Well, it's interesting because you brought in the social component, isn't it? Yeah. As did Philippe. Well, then there's lots of ideas on recycling or making other stuff out of it, so shorter jeans. I was thinking also that you were saying something about zippers and reapply. Any ideas on how to reapply zippers? Back in India we have craftswomen who actually develop leather products, which is much further away from textile usage, where you make small purses and clutches. Okay. So, I mean, zipper in itself and the buttons become a very important low-cost tool that can provide in the craft sector. Thank you. That's very nice. That's very nice. Oh, this one is also a great idea. Racks made into sound insulation building panels. That's another project actually that we were sent as part of Creative Conscience as a real initiative by some engineers. It can be used. So you can take any kind of cloth rags and compress them into sort of like insulation blocks to stop sound in building work. So that's something that... So any idea what one square meter of insulation costs in the building industry? Any of us? It's actually not an engine. Is it adding value? Is it upcycling? I guess if the materials are made brand from new, then it's not just the cost of creating it, it's the cost to the environment. So if you've got something that already exists and you're reusing that rather than using virgin materials to make insulation, then it makes sense, even though it might not be the most cost-effective thing that we can do. And what I like about the idea is that you switch to a different business in where it may be easier to add value and maybe even intangible values there. Oh, here. Oh, this is not... Who's this from? It's the one with the green pen. I wear, I am. Use look, repurpose. So this is the refurbishing part. Repair and patch and evolve. Oh, where's the cowboy look? Yes, authentic. The hatching thing is very authentic, wild west, you know, reutilization of materials. Yeah. And here's another one. Memory, nostalgia, feel hip with a new style. Double sides. What's this? Quote or poems inside? Just to make it like, I saw that you need spelling for something, so maybe inside your pockets. And that you have a life quote, like the one... I don't remember anyone, but yeah. So you know where your jeans is truffled? No, it's just to have something different inside your pants. That could be refurbished as well. And here we go into the surface. No wash behavior. Put the jeans in the freezer. Yeah, that's... I mean, I don't know if you've heard about that, but that was something that was in the UK a while ago. That actually we shouldn't be washing our jeans. We should be putting them in the freezer. And they last longer. And actually there's a designer that works at Ellen Cosi who, he buys quite expensive stuff. And he's really into how he looks. But he keeps all his jeans in the freezer. And then after a while he just resells them on eBay and quite often will make a profit out of it. So he looks really great all the time. But he constantly looks after his things really well and then resells it on. So we shouldn't really be washing our jeans. We should be putting them in the freezer. What happens when they go in the freezer? They just... I think it kills any kind of bugs or anything. And then it keeps the denim looking really good. And the lids are in the freezer? I think they just darkly... I think they just... I don't know what happens to them. I haven't tried it, sadly. The manufacturer had a campaign on that. They actually endorsed it for the same reason. But many experts say it doesn't work. And if you compare this with the environmental impact of washing your jeans, if you compare it with putting it in the freezer? Well obviously you save water, don't you? And detergent and all those things. And I guess if you've got a freezer anyway, it depends how many pairs of jeans you have and how big the family is and stuff like that. You probably have to have certain compartments for your clothing and others for your frozen peas, I suppose. How is that a service? Is it changing behaviors? Maybe they have a service where they take your jeans, put them in the freezer and then bring them back to you. Maybe. Like a laundry service, but a freezer service for your jeans. And here I have ShareApair. How about this idea? You've been really productive. Thank you. Just the idea of... I know lots of companies now like Philips are doing the whole idea of hiring things. Or is it Dessert with the flooring tiles where you don't buy it, you rent them. Or do you rent your jeans or do you share a pair with a neighbor? I don't know. It was just a thought. And this is maybe individualize and you decide the color of your jeans and re-dye when it's not so dark anymore. That's all kind of like a dyeing service, isn't it? Yeah, I think that's it, Nikolai. Didn't we say a dyeing service? Your jeans got too faded. You could have them re-dyed or re-styled. You might have changed your shape, so you might need to have them kind of tailored back to your current shape. But I think isn't it Nudie Jeans who do this anyway? Yeah, there's lots of brands that are in this area and more or less repairing. I think Nudie says wear them for six months and then, well, I have to check. What's Uber for jeans? It was the same thought. Just like I want those jeans. Uberize jeans. It's just a thought. Jeans B&B? So what's a jeans B&B? I can just hook up with someone else's jeans? Then, then, then, then, then jeans. Yeah? Yeah? Oh, great. It's good maybe when you're college-age when you're sharing clothes. I could ask someone, I like your, can I get me a pocket? It's more when you look at the screen on your Uber, you see a lot of cards running around. Instead you see a lot of pens. And your name? Oh, good. Yes. Yeah. Here's a great idea. It becomes a dating site. So are you wearing the right jeans? Isn't that a wonderful idea? Okay, well, we're tapping into this and I really love all these ideas. Bert, are you listening in because, well, maybe you need to change your business model into a dating model. We talked about, you know, there's all kinds of examples and there's all brands in this area. But what we learned from circular business is that if we are to turn it into a surface model, that's the biggest chance for resource savings and also for brands to make the change because if there's a lot of research savings involved, costs go down. So you internally motivate people to embrace this new business model. So actually, I showed you these jeans, but I don't owe these jeans. It's a leased jeans. So it's not mine. And Mudd Jeans is actually based on the idea of a circular business jeans, circular model jeans. And they have this leasing idea worked out. And now it's up to us to make that relevant for those aspirational. Because leased jeans is just a product definition. It's just the surface offer. But we need to make it attractive and we need these aspirational to tap into that. So I was asking to do another round of coming up with a very short idea on how we're going to sell it to these aspirational. And well, it's about rethinking how this would be distinctive. I think we already came up with lots of ideas. So tap on to build on the ideas that we already generated. And if it helps you to choose, write it down in a tweet because then you know it's going to be real quick and easy to share after the next couple of minutes. Ten minutes again, just to give your mind a thought on how you would convince me or us to lease jeans. Are we all in the aspirational area? Who isn't? Five minutes? Better for lunch is okay. Can you explain how it works? Well, actually what we usually do is we tap into the insight and we say what's the dilemma that someone is facing? What's the wish? So we see some emotional benefits. Oh, how the leasing works. Well, you subscribe to your jeans. You pay the first amount of 20 euros, you could say it's an entry fee, and then you pay each month seven and a half euros for the first year. And then there's a moment of choice. So you can say, okay, I'll give back my jeans and I'll look for another one, which is interesting because the jeans maybe has more value after it's been worn for a year than when it's new. Or you keep it and then you share it maybe even later. So this is the first model, first year model. You've paid for them. So you've paid 100 euros. Oh, let me check that up. If you give it back, I think you can change it or your lease amount stops, but I'll have to check that. Well, the 20 euros is to make sure that there is a first cover of costs because at the start of this idea, you started paying seven euros a month, and that was just not sufficient. So that's why it's so complex to come up with a really good business model and also, you know, earnings and costs. So it's work in progress, learning along the way to improve that. But it's a good question. I'll check it up. Well, that maybe is a very good insight to tap into. So that's what I like about this idea because then you say it's not lease the jeans, it's use the jeans, share jeans, give the jeans. Yeah. Share a pair? So what do you pay for your pants, for your jeans? No, no, no, no. This is a... So, okay, look again at the quality. This is the quality. It's organic, you know. It's very comfortable jeans. So how much would you pay for it? What do you think, what would be the value for you? Oh, that's an interesting question. But we know, you know, what with circular... No, but the interesting thing is with circular economy, new jobs can be created. So the question is... Yeah, but then, so what are you saying, Sergei? The refurbishing would be more interesting. I think when you start leasing things, then it's much easier. But I think that we have also as a producer something that you really have to be... It's also to learn people to love again the products. And I think when it comes to Danish design, I was in Japan last year, and when I see Japan and Scandinavian people, they also, it feels like they are more aware of what they are buying or what they are doing. So they are more satisfied with the product. So they are more, like for example in Sweden, when they take off their shoes when they go into their houses, like the same as in Japan. So it keeps the house more clean actually. So they are more aware of things. And I think that's one of the most important things of this economy, that you learn people again to love when you buy something that you keep it and you care for it. Yeah, you have to care for all the products. So to come back to this, I think I like from a business point of view, I think well, there's something new and maybe it can work. But from a more social point of view, I think well, I don't know. Yeah. So and you don't know, but you say you should brand it in a different way. You should bring back the love or cherish the products or cherish. Okay. Do you all agree? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's discuss. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. Well, and would it make it easier for you? So if you're if you're urban and there is a store nearby that you could fit on some other surface, you can imagine that there's others. You would do it. And if you if it were very easy in an environmental friendly way to send it back and forth in the rural area, would that be for you an option? Yeah. Yeah. So flexibility here is a different need, you could say fitting it into your. Well, thank you very much for this open comment. What about you? Yeah. And would it be because if you were to change it for worn jeans after a while, would it be important to know who was wearing it or that you somehow share? One of the ideas was, you know, the heritage of the jeans. Would that be important for you? But would it add value to know that you are for you? Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. So so that is the negative part because using does not give them that complete ownership so they might not. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Sandra.