So, some of our listeners and followers were asking: as either a smaller company, especially one starting out in the sustainability field, or if they were to have just a smaller budget, what areas of business should be prioritized when transitioning to a circular model?

“So, if a small company have a limited budget, what I would suggest is: think only to a specific product that you want to make or remake circular. It’s true that having, let’s say, a full portfolio of product will imply several costs in development. And what I suggest is you should first of all focus on the technical side, because if you are able to solve the technical issue—so it means you should put first of all the budget into what are the components that you need to create your circular product. And of course, as simple is the product, as lower you have to invest in developing something new.”

What was the toughest point that your company faced during this transition and do you have any recommendations on how to overcome it?

“To make understood all the internal stakeholders we have in our company on what would have meant to create a circular product. From, let’s put it like this to give you an example: the first thing that you have to do when you start to think or to create a circular product, you have to start from the end. So: “What will be the end of life of my product?” or “What is the end of life I want to give to my product?” in order then to start to develop your product having always that kind of things in mind. Otherwise you will end up at certain point where you will get yourself stuck.”

Can you share with us your short-term and medium-term results that you obtained from this transition?

So, the short-term result we have seen is that, let’s say, the academic world was interested in what we did. Most probably as we were too far ahead compared to what the technology or the way of thinking was, the first one that realized that was something really new what we had created or developed was the academic world. And basically we had this kind of recognition from institutions, from universities, from several of these stakeholders. This is the, let’s say, in short and medium term what it is the payback we had on that product.

How can a small company fully understand if they are following the right path? Are there any metrics that are particularly important to track?

“Luckily or unluckily, depend from which perspective you are looking at the things, legislation is coming to regulate or to give rules to the sustainability. Up to today, sustainability was more, let’s say, perceived in the apparel industry as a marketing tool. Actually, this era is gone because basically legislation is coming in and setting some boundaries on all this kind of thing. So for the company will be much easier to understand if they are following the right path; it will be as well much more difficult because several company, especially in the apparel industry, are not yet prepared to that.”

So, would you say that it’s more about hearing back from governments, understanding what laws can be put in place so companies adhere to these principles?

“To give you some, let’s say, practical suggestion is: try to well understand what the EU legislation is going to be. This is I think the basic thing that I would suggest to a company that want to embark today on the circular business model. For sure it’s better to act than react. I’m seeing in these days big problem, we are starting to see a big problem for example on the PFAS—this is chemistry—where basically the apparel industry for years and years they, let’s say, tried to do not give a final solution to the problem and nowadays, as California is just simply saying from 2025 nothing that contain PFAS can enter in California, nowadays everybody is a bit shaking on that.”