Circular economy to keep our planet spinning

As a concept (introduced by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), it speaks on how it is essential in the modern world to develop routines of sustainable growth and development in terms of resource management. Circular economy speaks of how it is important and helpful to immediately adopt this practice where the 4Rs, namely reduce, reuse, remanufacture and recycle.

The simplest way we can make a change while sitting at home is by shifting towards a greener shopping practice while looking for apparel. Start the practice of thrift shopping or shopping for materials that fall under the purview of circularity or ones that promote a circular economy. Taking into account once again the convenient example of wool as a fabric, let us see how it is broken down and cycled around in various ways.

Step 1
It starts as the woolly fur that is periodically sheared from a sheep and then woven into fabrics, thus helping the sheep, the farmers that are responsible for the rearing and herding of sheep, and the people involved in its transportation from point A to B.

Step 2
After it is woven into a fabric, they have a long lifetime, lasting up to 20 years if maintained well.

Step 3 Pt 1
Since it is a naturally occurring fiber with little to no human meddling, these have 50% carbon, and the rest are all constituents that can easily be degraded by the soil over some time.

Step 3 pt 2
Alternately it can also be upcycled after its initial use and refurbished for a second time. Or it can also be used as a rag for many years, thanks to its quality and thickness.

Step 4
We have now seen the entire cycle from the procuring of raw material to its disposal/recycling stage while being environmentally conscious. All of these are by specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in specific respect to SDGs 8, 10,6,7,15, that talk about clean water, land resource management, clean and affordable energy (during the fabric making process), responsible production and consumption (while manufacturing, not to utilize too many resources).

It is imperative to stay informed about modern-day green and blue initiatives and practices that move towards a future wherein we don’t make progress at one end at the cost of regress at another.

Presented here in an easily comprehensive example, there are many other ways you can choose to adopt circularity into our lifestyles and hobbies. With the European Union’s and the United Nation’s frameworks on adopting green textile practices as per the Circular Economy Plan Action (CEAP), it is all the more our prerogative to help out by doing our part in helping the environment. Fast fashion is also very detrimental to our environment, and engaging in it is causing tons of water loss and pollution, and energy consumption that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

Let us ensure the healthy future of the environment by making the switch right away towards more sustainable means of production, consumption, and development, by doing our part by buying recycled outfits and materials that promote a Circular Economy or Circularity such as wool or jute or khadi, but mostly wool because it is beneficial to every party involved without any extra consumption of resources.