Niaga®’s Post

🚀 “To boldly go where no man has gone before…”   🔄Moving to circular, means we need to re-evaluate the way we use and perceive materials. It also means searching for materials that are clean (and that we can keep clean), so that they can be reused or recycled at end of use.   🔎What we’ve also learned is that first we need to know what products and their materials are made of. We need to know down to the very last detail.   Why? Because even the tiniest traces of certain ingredients or additives can stand in the way of reuse or recycling.🚫   To know the exact composition of a product’s materials and ingredients requires a deep knowledge of the materials’ chemical composition and intrinsic properties and calls for thorough analysis and strong collaboration in the value chain to overcome limitations for reuse.   ✅ Step by step, this will enable us to turn ‘unknowns’ into ‘knowns’. So that nothing stands in the way of circularity and the ability to use materials again and again. Read the full story and the other lessons learned here: https://lnkd.in/e3JaRd3d #designtouseagain #designoutwaste #circulareconomy #ingredienttransparency

Why is this crucial?   ❗Because if a product contains materials that are not reusable, renewable or recyclable, it is not fit for the circular economy. What’s more: most products are designed in such a way that materials are fixed together for eternity.   So, even if materials are reusable or recyclable, they will be trashed at end of a product’s use, simply because they can’t be separated one from the other.🚮   ♻️What’s needed is a radical change in product design. So that products become repairable, refurbishable and recyclable in an economically feasible manner. We learned that these 3 design principles are key to enabling such change:   1️⃣ Keep it simple – use as few materials as possible and avoid additives to keep materials pure 2️⃣ Prioritize clean and infinite materials – metal, glass, polyester and polyamide 6 can be fully reused or recycled multiple times (not downcycled) 3️⃣ Make reversible connections – materials must come apart easily at end of use. Our click-unclick adhesives ensured they do.   ✅Our radical approach to product design has also brought other sustainable benefits, such as energy-efficient manufacturing technologies and a uniquely healthy manufacturing environment.   Read the full story and the other lessons learned here: https://lnkd.in/eqNrmX82 #designoutwaste #designtouseagain #circulareconomy #againandagain

Why the long haul? Till the time that the circular economy becomes the norm, and for as long as products are still ending up as waste, materials and their value are lost. To ensure materials retain their value and can be reused and recycled, high upfront investments are needed🔄💲. It’s a hurdle that only companies with a long-term view – with a willingness to redesign products and production processes, and organize take back and recycling – can overcome. Because to take the steps towards circular requires systemic change and intrinsic motivation to swim in against the tide🌊. Early adopters like Royal Auping, OBJECT CARPET GmbH and Vepa the furniture factory have been willing to look beyond the short term and their own industries. Why? Because they are convinced that, to ensure a sustainable future, circularity and a collaborative approach within the value chain are the only way to go. 📣The great news is that they have successfully proven the power and potential of circular products. As the circular economy gains traction, they’re going beyond competition and sharing their know-how, experience and technology by way of collaborative growth. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eAWpFPss #lessonslearned #designoutwaste #designtouseagain #circulareconomy #againandagain

Royal Auping nailed it! 🏆 Not only are they scaling circular mattress production with an automated line, they are also sharing their knowledge and technology with others. As Jan-Joost Bosman, CEO of Auping explains: "We have been frontrunners in the circular mattress industry for years. The opening of our new factory - making the production of circular mattresses significantly more efficient - is a first in our industry worldwide and a true milestone. We choose ambitious targets because we believe that organizations share the responsibility for safeguarding our planet for future generations. This has now resulted in this innovative production line, which makes us ready for a sustainable future. At Auping we are also making circular technology available to other mattress manufacturers as a profitable business model, so that we can jointly work towards a waste-free and sustainable mattress industry." Auping has been one of our early adopters who has been in it for the long haul as you can read in our 2nd lesson learned in 10 years transitioning to a circular economy: https://shorturl.at/afyZ7

Lesson 1 - Persist and play to fulfill your dream 💪Here goes with the very first lesson learned for designing out waste! 💡Founder of Niaga®, Chris Reutelingsperger, had a dream: to kill out waste and design for reuse. Working for the carpet industry–- producers of one of the biggest bulk-waste products – his dream was to give all materials used in carpets back to mother earth as traceable and healthy materials at the end of a products’ use. Not trash them. ⏩Chris: “It started with dreaming about retaining the value of materials used in carpets. Through learning by playing we found a way to keep materials alive again and again. ‘Please keep buggering on’ is what I like to call this process. It’s all about playing, with persistence!” Read more about fulfilling your dream here: https://lnkd.in/ev5SwrGj #10years #lessonslearned #circulareconomy #designoutwaste #designtouseagain

We very much recognise these 10 lessons! Like Vojtech Vosecky we are celebrating 10 years of designing out waste and transitioning to a circular economy. In the coming weeks we’ll be sharing the lessons we’ve learned and the hurdles we had to overcome while we were putting the below in practice. We hope it will help the community and ecosystem. #lessonslearned #circulareconomy

Celebrating 10 years of designing out waste! 💥 We’re off to a special start of 2024, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand Niaga®. A name that comes from spelling ‘again’ backwards. It reflects our ambition to design out waste by redesigning products for reuse, refurbishment and recycling. Over the next weeks, we’ll be sharing our most important lessons learned for designing out waste. So that products – and their materials – can be used again and again. #10years #lessonslearned #circulareconomy #designoutwaste #designtouseagain #materialvalue

We’ve loved clicking with you this past year! But, in the knowledge that everything we do and breathe at Niaga® revolves around the ability to click and unclick materials - so that they can be reused, refurbished or recycled - that probably won’t come as much of a surprise. Above all, it’s been a year in which the power of strong partnerships has been underlined in creating products that are ready to ‘click’ with the requirements of a circular economy. That are designed to use again. Wishing you happy holidays from the whole Niaga® team! 🎄🍾