Bakri Zaitoun is hard at work fixing the sleeve of a dark blue Patagonia puffer jacket at United Repair Centre (URC), a shop next to the well-known indoor food market Foodhallen in Amsterdam.
Mr. Zaitoun, a Syrian tailor who immigrated to the Netherlands in 2018, is one of eight refugees who work as tailors at URC. URC was established last year with the goal of extending the lifespan of clothing by mending items for brands and their clients.
Through a translator, Mr. Zaitoun explains that although he has been a tailor for 25 years, he had to work in a variety of jobs when he first arrived in the Netherlands. I questioned him about whether it was good to resume tailoring, and he grinned broadly.
The efforts made by Amsterdam to transition to a circular economy include work like that of Mr. Zaitoun.
In a traditional industrial economy, products are created using raw materials and then discarded when they are no longer needed, sometimes even before they have served their purpose.
The circular economy seeks to sever the connection between economic activity and the depletion of the planet's resources. This could entail sharing, repairing, and repurposing goods and materials.
The chief executive of URC, an organization he founded through his social enterprise Makers Unite, a creative textile platform, Thami Schweichler, claims that "Circularity is the hottest topic in the fashion industry right now.".
"Every brand is attempting to be sustainable. The circularity of brands' future will include repairs. " .
If change is to occur, he asserts, there must be a methodical approach. "The consumer will not make it happen. " .
Companies send damaged clothing to URC, which aims to fix items within a week, and currently works with five brands, including Patagonia, Scotch and Soda, and Decathlon.
Over 400 repairs are completed each week, or about 20,000 annually, according to Mr. Schweichler, who claims the goal is to reach 200,000 annually by 2026.
According to the World Economic Forum, the fast-fashion revolution has made the clothing industry one of the most wasteful industries, with 75% of our clothing being either burned or buried in landfills.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports that between 2000 and 2015, the amount of clothing produced doubled while the average amount of time spent wearing it decreased by 40%.
Although sustainability is a hot topic in many nations, in the Netherlands the government has outlined ambitious plans to quickly circularize the economy.
With a focus on consumer goods, the built environment, and food and organic waste streams, Amsterdam announced in 2020 that it would be the first city in the world to commit to developing a circular economy.
Amsterdam aims to reduce its reliance on fresh materials by half in seven years. The goal is to fully transition to a circular economy by 2050, relying only on recycled and used materials.
For the construction industry, which is in charge of more than 30% of global resource extraction and 25% of global solid waste generation, that will present a significant challenge.
Madaster, a Dutch start-up, is attempting to make a dent in those statistics.
It has developed an online registry containing the building materials used in Amsterdam as well as details on how to reuse them after their useful lives have passed.
Director Pablo van den Bosch claims that the production of products in the built environment requires a lot of resources and energy. "Reusing instead of creating waste is good for reducing carbon emissions and creating less waste. ".
He claims that Madaster collaborated with the Amsterdam authorities to produce a digital map of all the buildings in the city. "If the city wants to redevelop a space, they know what materials to save and may be able to use those materials rather than tearing it down. ".
Business technology has become more sophisticated.
He points to the Amsterdam Zuid Olympic office, which was completely renovated as opposed to being demolished. "In the same building, natural stone was removed from the façade and used for flooring. ".
There is still a long way to go despite advancements like these.
The Dutch economy still primarily operates in a linear manner, despite the fact that "policy efforts thus far have laid a foundation and developed a structure for a circular economy in the Netherlands," according to PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's Circular Economy Progress Report 2022.
Willem van Winden, professor of urban economic innovation at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, expresses his concern that both the nation and the city are failing to meet their goals.
The issue is that currently, circular models and practices are more expensive than those that use linear thinking. I'm afraid it won't happen unless the government takes stricter measures. To implement the circular economy, significant investment is required. Many businesses won't change unless legislation forces them to do so. " .
However, Amsterdam is putting initiatives in place to entice startups to make a bigger splash in the circular economy industry.
Amsterdam Circular, a two-month program created to assist 20 early-stage companies with funding, is one project that was launched in conjunction with AMS Institute and venture capital accelerator Rockstart.
Guy Vincent, program lead at Amsterdam Circular, claims that the city had a clear need to support early-stage start-ups and scale up financing. The program is intended to aid start-ups creating circular solutions for problems related to food, energy, mobilization, construction, and climate resilience. " .
According to him, circular economy start-ups face more difficulties than other new businesses.
"They can be testing new, more complex, and frequently unproven business models, so they are usually higher risk with lower profits. They might not receive investment from conventional VCs. We're looking for the best financing options for circular businesses. The need for co-financing, i. e. combined public and private funding sources. ".
One business that has succeeded in establishing itself in the circular economy sector is the Dutch electronics manufacturer Fairphone.
It encourages users to keep their phones for as long as possible and makes repairs to the devices comparatively simple.
The highest impact you can have in this product category, according to Eva Gouwens, CEO of Fairphone, is to keep the phone in use longer.
She makes the observation that production accounts for 75% of carbon emissions.
"A device has a two- to three-year lifespan on average. You would only need half the materials if we could extend to at least every five years. " .
Additionally, Fairphone has a recycling program whereby users can turn in their old phones in exchange for at least €50. "For fixing other devices, we can use modules or at the very least components. Many phones are stored in drawers or dumped, according to her.
Although Prof. van Winden finds the businesses creating circular models to be encouraging, he makes the following observation about the circular economy: "For now, it's mainly the upmarket segments, and they're often expensive products for richer people.
. "
