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Just as secondhand stores give objects that would otherwise end up in the landfill a second life, a new wave of green meetings is embracing the circular economy.
One of my favorite people to follow on Instagram is a maker who frequents thrift shops where outdated clothes and household soft goods get a reprieve from the landfill. Most of the things she picks out from the racks I would thumb my nose at. But not her. She sniffs out potential, zeroing in on castoffs that are decades old, like dated crocheted afghans and vintage quilts, tablecloths, and curtains, and transforming them — using her imagination, expertise, and a sewing machine — into edgy and one-of-a-kind couture.
Michelle Russell
Editor in Chief
As an upcycling amateur, I envy her talent. I dabble in making over secondhand dressers and tables I’ve picked up (often to my husband’s dismay) at our local Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore outlet — sanding down years of nicks and water rings or orangey varnish to get to the original wood grain and sharing before-and-after pictures with friends. Not only does ReStore give donated household items that would otherwise end up in the landfill a second life, proceeds from buyers like me help build, rehabilitate, and repair safe and affordable homes for those in need.
That’s the circular economy for you, at a grassroots level. And as you can see from what I’ve shared, it’s not painful in practice (except when I’ve overdone it vigorously sanding down surfaces). It’s creative and it’s gratifying. Which is the positive sentiment Tuula Sjöstedt, Finland-based World Circular Economy Forum’s (WCEF) communications and public affairs lead for international programs, wanted to end our conversation with when I spoke with her for this issue’s cover and CMP Series story. WCEF gathers all kinds of professionals who share a passion for working “together on building the circular economy for our future,” she told me. Being upbeat is in the conference’s DNA, Tuula said. “Even though the content that we’re working on is very severe, it doesn’t have to be gloomy. We don’t have to be with a serious face and slitting our wrists open about not getting there in time. It can be fun and it can be engaging. That’s, I think, one of the recipes to our success.”She didn’t make light of the work it takes to design an event with a regenerative rather than linear mindset. But unlike how I and my Instagram friend put the circular economy into practice, at events it’s a collaborative effort, and many hands make lighter work. Greenbuild International Conference & Expo Event Director Katie Gilham, who also spoke with me for our story, said she’s “so reliant” on her venue partners to help them meet their ambitious goal of diverting 80 percent of the waste generated during the event from landfills. But Greenbuild also acts as a partner to its exhibitors, walking them through the process of making their booths sustainable according to the event’s stringent standards, from buildout to breakdown. It’s not just so they adhere to the requirements for this singular convention, Katie said, but to help them rethink the way they show up at other events, so the circular economy has a ripple effect.
Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene.