The new consumption - Trends in sustainable commerce

Thank you for reading Outsider Innovation's first edition of Outsider Information.  Part of Outsider Innovation's mission is to provide our contemporaries and colleagues with the best information so they can make the best decisions. 

The content and frequency may shift based on the topics of the day, but it will always be information we think sustainability and innovation leaders in industry should know.  In this edition, we pulled the most poignant quotes from important and timely articles. 

Highlights

Here we've compiled articles and events from the Materials, Waste, and Textiles sectors to help your company stay ahead of potential issues and get tips and insight into current trends. 

  • $20-30 billon investment needed to scale sustainability-related technical innovations

  • focusing on eradicating ‘unnecessary’ plastic items, innovating to ensure products are recyclable and reusable, and keeping products in use out of landfills.

  • Affordability, mainstream selection, "having the cool, new thing," and, most of all, convenience, are all elements of modern retail… can be preserved in a package-free economy

    • Terracycle's Loop venture, aiming to deliver consumable food and personal care items to people's doorstep in reusable, refillable packaging

  • “exciting” and a “much needed development for the sports and outdoor textile industry”

    • Berghans and Spinnova partner for subscription-based product and take back scheme   

  • “an endless, sustainable wardrobe" and "sustainable prosperity through product durability"

    • The Norwegian Research Council has agreed to fund two new projects aiming to reduce the impact of the textile industry. LASTING Project’s aim is durability, while the Lifespan project looks at clothing.

  • Nike designs footwear based on offcuts

An Outsider’s Perspective

An Outsider’s Perspective is where Outsider Innovation shares our thoughts on this news. We try to connect common threads from these stories and extrapolate broad trends from them. It’s our opinion, but it could help keep your company ahead of the curve.

NGO's are gaining momentum and influence and appear to be more effective in using it.  The Good Fashion Fund has gained major footing with companies like Arvind, a substantial name in the textiles industry, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is shaping several major retailer's Sustainability Development Goals (SDG's).  There's new funding available to pursue technical and process innovation as well; the Good Fashion Fund, Norwegian Research Council, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AFFOA, and others are putting the money where their mouth is.  This cooperative funding can help material consumers like retailers and brands can help to drive their manufacturing partners to consider new equipment, while material manufacturers can bring new technology on board and drive value.  There are more resources than ever to help companies develop SDG strategies. 

In the 1990's, using recycled materials was a crazy idea.  Today their use is commonplace.  The next step beyond recycled materials, from an impact reduction standpoint, is likely to be bio-sourced or bio-based materials.  When properly grown, harvested and converted, they offer the opportunity to remove carbon and restore the soil, surpassing the impact reduction from recycled materials.  Unfortunately, commercial-scale agriculture can have enough impact to offset some of these gains and these materials may not perform like their virgin or recycled counterparts.  Adopting these technologies can be a technical headache, and some companies are unwilling or unable to accept the necessary compromises in cost, efficiency, or performance.  

If recycled is becoming the baseline, but bio-based may be hard to achieve, what should be done?  Look to your products and their end use!  Build better products that encourage end users to consume less, offer buy back and resale services, repair and regeneration services.  Look to the waste in your organization, be it energy, material, time or money.  Engage deeper with your organization's consumption and value chain to find where funding might spur innovation and adoption.  Arc'teryx, Patagonia, The North Face, REI and others have established marketplaces for used goods, and some of these companies are designing this into their products.  When looking for headline-grabbing and legitimate sustainability initiatives, consider trying a new consumption model.   Outsider Innovation can help find and capitalize on these opportunities with you and your partners. What's better than selling a product once?  Selling the same one twice. 

As always, we're here to help.  Feel free to reach out (inquiry@outsiderinnovation.com) if you'd like additional information on any of the above articles or their potential impact to your business.