Circular Design encompasses guiding principles that focus on key product and service design decisions. While other Rs can be incorporated, having a clear, rigorous set of principles helps drive circular design practices forward. To that end, the 9Rs prompt us to rethink our daily decisions and their long-term effects on our environment.
Rethink challenges us to reimagine how goods and services are designed, produced, delivered, used, and disposed of. We rethink what the product`s core function is, and whether we can redesign it to minimize waste altogether. Additionally, business models may be redesigned to shift from owning products to offering them as a subscription or other service model.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Business model innovation, product as a service, sourcing, processing, and supply chain management.
EXAMPLES
Fairphone – Made from easily replaceable and upgradable modular components, not glued shut.
Interface`s ReEntry program – Takes back used carpet tiles, separates materials, and recycle them into new tiles.
Phillips (Signify) – Leasing upgradeable commercial fixtures, handling all end-of-life recovery and recycling.
Refuse means saying ‘no’ up front to materials, products, packaging, or practices that have a negative social or environmental impact. It is our first line of defense, empowering us to reduce the inflow of unnecessary consumption.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Zero waste to landfill, Bio-based materials, toxin-free materials.
EXAMPLES
Subaru’s Indiana Plant – Sends no manufacturing waste to landfill, proving industrial production can operate without disposal. (Since 2000, Subaru of Indiana Automotive has reduced the waste generated per vehicle by 55-60%).
Modern Meadow – Develops biofabricated materials such as plant-protein–based polymers that mimic leather and other textiles without animal skins or petrochemicals, using renewable biological sources instead of traditional materials.
Interface – Eliminated topical stain-resistant coatings containing PFAS from their flooring products and instead focuses on choices that avoid petrochemical-derived additives when possible.
Reduce is about using fewer materials, less energy, and minimizing waste. The less we use, the less is discarded, making all inputs and outputs more sustainable.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Lighter packaging, minimizing parts, optimizing inputs.
EXAMPLES
Stella McCartney – Reduces material impact by designing lightweight garments, minimizing trims and components, and prioritizing lower-impact fibers to decrease resource use across production and transport.
Clever Little Bag, by Puma – Uses 65% less cardboard than the standard shoe box, has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, takes up less space and weighs less in shipping, and replaces the plastic retail bag.
Lush Cosmetics – Completely eliminates packaging for many solid products like shampoo bars, reducing material use at the source.
Repair brings used products back to their working condition, avoiding premature disposal while sustaining the value of their materials and energy.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Repair as a service, product longevity, design for repairability.
EXAMPLES
OXO – Designs kitchen tools that allow users to easily replace worn-out parts to repair instead of disposing the entire tool.
Patagonia – Operates garment repair centers to replace parts and repair rips & tears to keep products in use for decades.
Miele – Makes appliances with standardized fasteners and easily removable panels to facilitate component access and reduce repair time.
Reuse extends the useful life of an object by employing it multiple times, either in its original form or with minimal modification instead of discarding it.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Refillable products and packaging, shipping strategy & management, fashion industry.
EXAMPLES
Terracycle – Collaborates with brands to design premium containers that are returned, then professionally cleaned and reused.
ThredUp – Created an online consignment store to buy and sell high-quality secondhand clothing for reuse.
Shipping pallets and crates – Designed for durability and modularity, offer many secondary reuse applications.
Refurbish restores and improves products to their original condition by cleaning and replacing worn parts to a like-new appearance and function.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Refurbish as a service, reduction of virgin materials, design for refurbishability.
EXAMPLES
Apple Certified Refurbished Products – Used devices restored to a certified “like-new” condition for resale.
Industrial Tooling – Made of high-grade steel can be refurbished to precision tolerances and like-new conditions.
Amazon Renewed – Creates a marketplace for certified, refurbished consumer electronics and appliances with a warranty.
Remanufacture products to original (or even improved) factory specifications, including full disassembly, component-level inspection, replacement or restoring of parts where needed, reassembly, and rigorous testing to meet current standards.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Remanufacture as a service, reduction of virgin materials, design for remanufacturability.
EXAMPLES
Xerox – Designs modular copiers, allowing entire subsystems, e.g., imaging units, etc., to be swapped out easily.
Caterpillar – Designs for remanufacturing heavy equipment parts to meet or exceed their original performance.
Scania/Volvo – Designs durable truck components for full disassembly and replacement to meet rigorous standards.
Repurpose finds new life for items or parts beyond their original intent. It can creatively shift their functionality into new products, reassigning the material`s value while extending its life.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
New business innovation, reduction of virgin materials, cross-industry integration.
EXAMPLES
Ecohalf – Repurposes discarded fishing nets and plastic bottles collected from the ocean into high-quality textile fibers.
Neustark – Transforms demolition concrete and other mineral waste into new, high-performing, low-embodied concrete.
Airlines – Can repurpose waste, e.g., aluminum fuselage sections into tables and aircraft seats into high-end office furniture.
Recycle means breaking materials down to raw forms: plastic pellets, metal ingots, glass cullet, and remaking them into new goods.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Waste management innovation, design with recycled materials, design for recyclability with existing infrastructure and aftermarkets in mind.
EXAMPLES
Coca-Cola – Uses only clear PET for its bottles, which has the highest commodity value in recycling markets.
Adidas – Recycles plastic waste from beaches and coastal communities into performance footwear and apparel.
Puma – Designed their InCycle T-shirt using a high-quality mono-material, to ensure it would be easy to recycle.