How do we break free from the consumerist story we’ve inherited, one where material possessions define our worth? And how might brands write a new story of responsible consumption that’s not about what we must give up, but about how much more becomes possible in a circular economy?

In this episode of our podcast, Raphael speaks to Kate Daly of Closed Loop Partners and John Atcheson of Circular Way about the exciting experiments they have helped pioneer to make circular solutions frictionless and fabulous.

Closed Loop Partners are behind the ongoing “Beyond the Bag” initiative, a partnership of national retailers including Target, CVS, and Walmart who are working together to design plastic bag waste out of the shopping experience. Their latest beta tests – supported by BBMG – have helped nudge consumers towards reusable bags and estimate they’ve eliminated the use of three million single-use plastic bags as the outcome of the Denver and Tucson pilots alone.

As a serial entrepreneur, John Atcheson has piloted a number of innovative circular retail platforms including the car sharing company, Getaround and the apparel resale platform Stuffstr that powered successful recommerce offerings from adidas and John Lewis in the UK. His newest venture, Circular Way, takes everything he’s learned from those earlier experiences and endeavors to completely reorient the retailer’s – and the consumer’s – relationship with the stuff we own.

Tune in to learn:

• How brands, and people, can unleash more use from goods
• How to remove barriers to new behavior adoption
• How to build a new retail model that makes the old model obsolete

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Our Guests:
Kate Daly leads the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, an innovation center for research, analysis and collaboration to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in which materials are shared, re-used and continuously cycled. Early in her career, she earned the nickname “garbage girl” for her habit of fishing useful things out of the trash and spearheading office reuse efforts. It’s no wonder she made her way into work for the circular economy.

• Watch Kate’s interview with the NYSE about ‘Beyond the Bag’ here
• Learn more about the ‘Bring Your Own Bag’ pilot here

John Atcheson is Co-Founder/CEO at Circular Way, a circular technology company that enables shoppers to buy or rent both new and used clothing side-by-side, receive a host of blockchain-enabled services to maximize their enjoyment and use of their clothes, and resell garments at end of use with the touch of a button.

• Read John’s 3-part blog series, The Path to Circular Fashion, here

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The Future We Want is produced by Liz Courtney.

Sound editing and music is by Go Destroy Art.