Circular Business Series: For The Micro Entrepreneur

I can’t seem to stop shopping for my kid's clothes at H&M. 

This is a problem for me because it goes against my values and what I believe in. I know the fast fashion industry is problematic, from waste and pollution to labor exploitation; it was the reason I founded a circular second-hand clothing business in Mauritius. 

This was with 5+ years of experience in the fashion industry as a brand representative and a contemporary fashion boutique owner. I also had a stint working in development in East Africa where I witnessed first-hand the pallets of questionable quality second-hand clothing being sold off the shipping containers from the US and then resold in the local markets next to cheap plastic dresses fresh from a sweatshop in Bangladesh. These products competed with local artisans and dressmakers. I know these clothes eventually further polluted the air, land, and water after a few short months of use.

So when I shop at H&M, I imagine it being written down in a demon’s record book of my life like in the TV show “The Good Place”. 

I dream of hand sewing and repairing my kid's clothes from pure merino wool and organic cotton grown bio-dynamically and woven by a worker-owned cooperative. #tradwifelifegoals

Then I imagine the businesses I wish someone would open. At some point, I might find myself back in this space, but for now, my job is to help all of you unconventional entrepreneurs launch and grow profitable businesses that solve painful problems while making the world a better place. 

Current and future crafters, designers, artisans, community organizers, gardeners, micro farmers, and want-to-be boutique owners: I’m looking at you with this series on circular goods businesses. With this multi-part series, I hope you’ll be inspired to start a circular and fiscally sustainable business. 

What Is a Circular Business?

Sustainable is so 2000’s. The term Sustainability refers to the balancing of material needs (things and money) with the health of the planet. It means a lot of different things to different people, with no one clear, actionable definition. It’s become a convenient term used in greenwashing. 

To be ‘sustainable’ many companies are trying to follow their traditional linear process and implement sustainable practices. Unfortunately, this doesn’t fundamentally change the impact on the environment. This means continuing to extract, design, and manufacture in a way that maximizes profits at the expense of the planet and people. 

Circular and regenerative is what will help us achieve a better world. 

When you think of a business you could start that would be classified as Circular let's start with 5 Rs. These are my 5 Rs from working on circular initiatives for over a decade. There is no Circular Economy standards board to correct me, though the Ellen McArthur Foundation could be close.

Regenerate - Produce products or raw materials in a way that improves soil, water, air, and biodiversity.

Reuse - Anything that helps extend the use of the product. Includes all second-hand markets, shops, buy-back programs, second-hand consignment, and other use-what-you-have initiatives. 

Renew - Adding value to an existing product to make it usable or in demand. Cleaning, repairing, refurbishing, upcycling and repurposing are all business opportunities.

Recover - Decluttering, collecting, and sorting are essential services needed to make sure products are efficiently being reused or renewed and not going to recycling, landfill, or waste pollution before the end of their life.

Recycling - Last and the least of the 5R’s. Recycling is mostly a myth sold to consumers and governments by the plastics industry. Recyclers work on incredibly small margins and rely on government supplements and most of what they collect is not recycled into a new product. Recycling misses out on Reuse, Renew, and Regenerate and uses an incredible amount of resources to transform waste into something new. So when we think of circular we are not going to focus on recycling. 

You do not have to achieve all 5 R's to be considered circular. You can build a whole business focused on just one aspect of one R.

Circular businesses give you a competitive edge

Starting a circular micro or local small business is one way to stay competitive in a land of monopolies and corporate giants. You can be agile and make value propositions they can’t. For example, it will be almost impossible for you to compete with fashion brands by trying to start a new label using linear production, you likely won’t have the buying power, connection, or capital. But start a niche brand of second-hand, upcycled, or renewed clothing and you’ll not only differentiate yourself but also be price competitive.

The circular economy can also compete against the linear economy and push oligopolies to change their ways. You can start to have a systematic influence on the status quo.

Circular businesses are accessible to an entrepreneur to create a local or regional lifestyle business.

I'll be focusing on businesses that could ideally be present in every town and neighborhood. Like a Doctor or Dentist, we need circular solutions at a convenient and adaptable level in our communities. Thinking about it this way, you don’t have to be a unique unicorn, you can start an unoriginal business - one you love and pays your bills. 

I’m focused on businesses, partners, or a small group that could open with minimal investment and start-up expenses -  $25,000 or less.

A circular economy business is concerned with stuff or as the Oxford dictionary puts it: an economic system based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products, especially as a means of continuing production in a sustainable or environmentally friendly way.

This is about the stuff we use and legitimately need and how to prevent our stuff from polluting and devouring resources.

What stuff do we use? What is essential? Where could we help to focus on what matters and not consume, consume, consume.

I’ll be doing a series of circular business ideas you can use for inspiration or flat-out steal. I’ll also include real-world examples you can build upon. In the circular economy, we value collaboration over competition. 

I’m going to focus on the following areas: Food, Textiles, Home goods, Electronics & Transportation. 

If this is interesting to you, please join the conversation by adding your comments below.

You could:

• Share a circular enterprise you love
• Ask me anything about the circular economy
• Share what products you wish had a circular solution.

• Argue with me

The circular economy is accessible to a budding entrepreneur. If you are already spending hours trying to be more sustainable, consider how you might enter the circular economy.