The week of the circular economy

The future is circular! Learn more about The Week of the Circular Economy and the circular brand NOWA.

The Week of the Circular Economy is an initiative of Het Versnellingshuis, a national program that helps Dutch businesses to do business in a circular way. It is a partnership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, MVO Nederland, Het Groene Brein, VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland.

During this week, great examples are given a stage, and pioneers and initiators meet each other. Successes and challenges are discussed and starters in the circular sector receive tips on how to get started and overcome the challenges.

In 2022 the theme is 'Action plan for the future': Central questions are 'We have to take action to be fully circular by 2050, but how do we do this?' There are already many initiatives in the field of circularity.

Designing circular products is, on one hand, about design with a long lifespan, being solid and durable. Quality is paramount in the choice of materials and how the product is produced. On the other hand, this is about designing products that the user finds beautiful and useful for longer. Can a device comply with the latest technology without having to replace the entire product? Repair service can be arranged differently and warranties prolonged. Can the customer personalise the product and therefore become of greater value for the consumer?



The material use of circular products is also important and decisive.

At Up To Do Good you can find circular products like jewellery from Nowa. Nowa stands for “No Waste” and makes timeless jewellery from gold and silver extracted from old mobile phones. For every piece of jewellery sold, old phones are rescued from the landfill in Africa by Closing the Loop.

There is often a lot of value in raw materials from waste and electronic waste (e-waste) is growing faster than any other waste stream. However, less than 20% of all e-waste worldwide is recycled. People are often unaware of the valuable metals, such as gold, silver and copper, that are in their old electronics. In the Netherlands alone, €27 million worth of gold is thrown away every year. In addition, there are 3 to 4 million old telephones gathering dust in our drawers. By showing that there is value in waste and that you can make beautiful things out of waste telephones, Nowa wants to encourage people to take action. Sell ​​your phone or have it recycled.

(source: Voor De Wereld Van Morgen, Nowa.com)

This week we highlight products from our collection with a highly circular character, we hope to inspire you with this!