Blue Patch members’ June (online) workshop explored how small creative businesses can genuinely close the loop and embrace circularity. Workshop leader Alice Doyle, uses a technique called ‘reverse brainstorming’, where you make a problem worse before flipping it and finding solutions. Here’s what happened…
The Scenario: Cirque De Loop — and a circular crisis!
Participants cast themselves in the role of designer-maker ‘Creative Renewal’. This cutting edge brand has been selected to showcase its zero-waste furniture at Cirque De Loop, the world’s most prestigious sustainable design show.
On their website and in their marketing messages Creative Renewal promises ‘100% recycled materials’, ‘a take-back scheme’, ‘zero waste’ – sounds like the perfect fit?
Know your supply chain
Then, out of the blue, just before the show opens, Cirque De Loop’s organisers request a detailed audit:
- Where do the materials actually come from?
- Are they really recycled?
- Can the products be repaired or disassembled?
- What happens to the products at the end-of-life?
Cracks appear in Creative Renewals claims! Their suppliers have not documented where the materials are sourced, nor the processes involved, plus the furniture is glued, not screwed. As for the take-back scheme, it never happened!
With their inclusion in the show suddenly at risk, Creative Renewal has to confront an uncomfortable truth: circularity claims without proof can quickly unravel.
When green claims go wrong: breakout 1
Participants imagined the worst-case scenario — a brand exposed for circular greenwashing. Here are their suggestions:
- Claiming recycled content without verifying source materials.
- Deflecting blame or punishing staff who raise concerns.
- Staying vague, defensive, or even lying outright.
- Letting things escalate — until it hits the press and goes viral.
One group shared a business owner’s story – sourcing textiles from costume departments from one of the UK’s renowned theatres, with provenance and weights recorded. Their system works because they keep meticulous records.
Others admitted how difficult traceability becomes when fibres are blended and suppliers either can’t or won’t reveal their sources.
Without absolute clarity on how products can be repaired, disassembled, reused or recycled even a well-intentioned design can fail at the final hurdle.
The takeaway? Without robust record keeping, honest messaging, and preparedness for scrutiny, circularity claims become a liability.
From Exposure to Empowerment: breakout 2
Then we flipped the situation on its head. What would a courageous comeback look like?
This second breakout session sparked a rush of ideas grounded in traceability, empowerment and collaboration:
- Stakeholder engagement with NGOs and ethical supply chain partners.
- Independent audits and certifications like Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance.
- Team empowerment — ensuring all staff are knowledgable and equipped to support sustainability goals.
- Transparency in labelling — showing the percentage of recycled content and fibre type.
- Tech-enabled traceability, from blockchain to fibre-identifying AI.
Fibre-detecting machines are already helping brands verify material content check out Blue Patch member Kapdaa with their innovative Ai4Fibres!
Transparency and accountability: materials
The group discussed the limits of recycled polyester (is it really recycled?) and wool (can trigger allergies) and proposed AI-backed labelling that reflects material truth over marketing fluff, enabling customers to make informed choices.
Above all, we returned to honesty. As one member put it: “It’s better to say we’re at 60% verified post-consumer waste than to pretend we’re at 100% with no evidence.”
Creative Renewal’s next steps?
- Go back to suppliers with curiosity, not blame. Start a shared spreadsheet. Map material journeys.
- Revise labels and marketing — replace buzzwords with simple, truthful descriptions.
- Set up a real take-back scheme, even a small one. Show how it works with photos.
- Add QR codes linking to the evolving material story.
- Celebrate imperfection — circularity is a continual process, not a product.
Suddenly, the story shifts and Creative Renewal keeps its place in Cirque De Loop. A sustainability journalist picks up the brand’s humble transformation. Customers start reaching out — not to criticise, but to thank them and to ask how to repair their pieces they bought years ago.
Reflection
As Alice closed the session, one message rang clear: circularity is a journey. And it begins with asking better questions — of ourselves, our suppliers, and our systems.
It’s not about perfection, it’s about transparency and curiosity, designing not just for sale, but for return, reuse, and regeneration. Let’s stop seeing waste as the end of the story when really it’s the very beginning.
Blue Patch’s June interactive workshop was Led by Alice Doyle, Chartered Environmentalist and supported by Blue Patch patron The Naturesave Trust through their Making Business Greener Campaign.
Next Workshop:
Thursday 18 July | 11.00 AM. Information is on the Blue Patch Members’ Hub.
Please Explore membership if you would like to join the sustainable business community.