With more circular initiatives surfacing – from small start-ups to corporate strategies – not everybody is on the same page about what a circular economy entails. As global debates in academic, business and consumer circles heat up, will a zero-waste lifestyle move from a fringe movement to the mainstream?

Marks & Spencer has launched a selection of beers that is partly made from surplus sandwich bread. The ‘Used Our Loaf’ range is likely a response to people’s rising expectations for companies to reduce unnecessary waste and start operating with circular approaches.

Brooklyn-based Rhodora reopened its doors in September 2019 as the first truly waste-free restaurant in New York. As people become more conscious of the environmental impact of food and plastic waste, they’re searching for models of consumption that can be applied to everyday life.

As people realise the impact of waste packaging on the planet, they’re making small lifestyle changes through independent brand innovations. But with convenience still high on people’s priority list, how is reusable, recyclable shopping platform Loop taking the circular economy mainstream?