No more “Externalities”
End-to-end producer responsibility: Producers are responsible for all impacts of their activities and products, from raw material extraction to product recycling/disposal.
There’s no doubt that a single company can create and inspire change. But if all producers up and down the supply chain, and indeed across the economy, are holding each other accountable for all impacts – then we really do have the potential see the kinds of changes we need on a grand – global – scale. Effectively, a feedback loop. And let’s not forget what Einstein had to say about the feedback loop: “the most powerful force in the universe”.
In this episode we see in Fast Fashion Brand Boohoo a case in point of many of the things we have been talking about: the Global Monetary System at work, almost blindly driving profit, with scant regard for its vast impacts in human and ecological terms. And failure of consumer power, and tension between activist censure and investor appetite. In contrast we also consider Renault, a company that is embracing complete re-use and recycling.
What would complete circularity look like?
Talking points:
- The limits of limited liability
- Out of sight, out of mind – we don’t want to know
- Fast fashion, Boohoo – and the Global Monetary System
- Contributory factors in the development of fast fashion
- Extended Producer Responsibility
- Plotting the chain – gouging and dumping vs circular process
- iPhones and the truth of supply chains
- Is this a basis on which the world wants to work?
- Renault transitioning to the new economy – PACE
- Respect and the biosphere
- Nature vs consumer culture
- Ethos and company culture as something accessible
- Community as a part of good business and good branding
- Neo-liberalism means – take and don’t care
Links:
Business of Fashion Podcast:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/podcasts
Greta Thunberg BBC series:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p099f58d/episodes/player
PACE – Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy
https://pacecircular.org
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Wikipedia – “In Germany, since the adoption of EPR, “between 1991 and 1998, the per capita consumption of packaging was reduced from 94.7 kg to 82 kg, resulting in a reduction of 13.4%”.[55]Furthermore, due to Germany’s influence in EPR, the “European Commission developed one waste directive” for all of member states (Hanisch 2000). One major goal was to have all member states recycle “25% of all packaging material”[55] and have accomplished the goal.In the United States, EPR is gaining popularity “with 40 such laws enacted since 2008. In 2010 alone, 38 such EPR bills were introduced in state legislatures across the United States, and 12 were signed into law.”[56] However, these laws are only at the state level as there are no federal laws for EPR. So far, “only a handful of states have imposed five to six EPR laws as well as 32 states having at least one EPR law”.[56]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_producer_responsibility
UK Govt/ recent DEFRA EPR Consultation:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/extended-producer-responsibility/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging/
…+ consultation document pdf (06.2021/ 213 pages):
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/extended-producer-responsibility/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging/supporting_documents/23.03.21%20EPR%20Consultation.pdf
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