The news that the founder of clothing retailer Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, is “giving away” the $3 billion business, with all profits now going toward fighting climate change, is a testament to Chouinard’s long-standing personal commitment to actions, large and small, that align with his values.
But while the coverage that’s followed largely focuses on Chouinard’s individual contribution, this framing underplays a key aspect of the brand that may provide stronger answers to an important question: How do we link individual decisions—whether by a billionaire corporate founder or an everyday shopper choosing a puffy jacket—to large-scale changes at the community, corporate, or global scale? Patagonia, under Chouinard’s leadership, has used the principles of circularity to show us.
We know that some forward-thinking brands are increasingly looked to as models for how inspired leadership combined with a strong community-centric culture can cultivate mission-driven impact. But what about communities or organizations that don’t have a global platform or millions of dollars in annual revenue? For this, I suggest we look to the college campus, which provides an unexpected microcosm of what’s possible for individuals, communities, and policy leaders—all with varying degrees of appetite for activism and personal goals—to make sustainable changes at every level.
At New York City’s Barnard College, where I hold dual roles as a theater professor and director of campus sustainability, we’ve made serious strides in applying the theory of circularity—that is, the practice of “waste not, want not” at scale—to disrupt harmful cycles of overconsumption that are pervasive across U.S. college campuses. Patagonia was an early leader in adopting circular concepts, from their “repair is a radical act” policy, which encourages and supports customers to fix their products instead of buying new replacements, to their Worn Wear site for purchasing used Patagonia clothes.
As we approach a climate tipping point, circularity is a powerful tool for changing our consumption practices. According to the World Resource Institute, as of today the global economy is only 8.6% circular, leaving a massive circularity gap. If we double that number by 2032—at which point the Paris Climate Agreement calls for total emissions to have been reduced by at least 45%—circularity practices alone could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 39% and shrink the total materials footprint by 28%, compared to current levels. On college campuses, we have a higher-than-normal capacity to influence our community, creating an opportunity to see the impact of sustainable initiatives up close and then study, test, and refine them. What’s more, we have a clear vantage point into how circularity functions at multiple scales, from the individual, to the community, to the policy levels.
Starting small can be the foundation
Gen-Z, the generation most present on our campuses, represents some of the most effective advocates for systemic change, and more than any generation, recognizes the role circularity can play in their lives. Environmental concerns have led to an overwhelming majority of young people adjusting their personal consumption habits. Online exchanges like Facebook Marketplace, Depop, and ThredUp have seen their platforms surge in popularity as a new generation of consumers takes up arms against the waste of fast fashion. A recent report by ThredUp found the resale market will more than double by 2026, with young people driving the trend. As of 2019, 90% of Depop’s users were under the age of 26.
Young adults are also applying the principles of circular living in their careers when they enter the job market. At schools across the country, design programs are overwhelmingly shifting their pedagogical focus to move beyond just aesthetics to now also consider the environmental cost and efficacy of materials used. For budding industrial designers, this might look like using reclaimed, remanufactured, or salvaged materials. For urban designers, this could mean creating multipurpose green infrastructure, like bioswales in parking areas that also reduce stormwater runoff. Curious and passionate individuals across occupations are driving wholesale change by bringing their habits of sustainable daily living into their selected occupation.
Community action builds the change
When considering the potential of smaller scale changes, I’m reminded of activist Adrienne Maree Brown’s poignant work on emergent strategy: “What we practice at the small scale sets the pattern for the whole system.” Circularity opens a possibility for bigger community connections and improvements. By using resources more efficiently, we are not only able to reduce waste, but also to better distribute those resources to meet the needs of everyone.
For example, starting in 2016, the Barnard theater department began incorporating a minimum of 50% of used materials into the design and production process for all of its sets. To put this into perspective, one show built with roughly 50% used materials and a $7,000 materials budget, was found to save the equivalent emissions of one American home for six months. By reducing the new materials budget, the department was also able to reallocate that money to better compensate those undertaking the labor needed to source used items, raising design fees by 58% and prop artisan compensation by about 70%. Reuse allowed us to increase our investment in labor costs, supporting local theater artists and their families.
The technology startup Rheaply is helping colleges like Barnard, as well as corporate entities, think similarly about how to embed circularity in standard business processes. Barnard’s Rheaply reuse platform saved students $20,000 last year, and diverted thousands of pounds of waste from landfills. Through resource management and purchase analysis, their software helps businesses cut down on redundant or climate-harming purchases and redeploy the savings from these changes elsewhere. Rheaply’s cofounder and CEO Garry Cooper Jr. has advocated for the need to “remap the world” as communities consider ways to shift savings in one area to benefits in others.
Policy scales the new standard
While norms of circularity may be seen on a college campus or in a progressive brand, building circular thinking into the way an entire society operates requires committed policies that facilitate a larger scale shift from a consumer-first economy to a community-first one.
On the municipal level, the focus must be on disincentivizing waste by reexamining the whole cycle, from product purchase to end of life. EPA-approved “pay as you throw” policies that put a price on trash collection are gaining traction throughout the U.S. and have been shown to increase waste reduction behaviors over time.
To promote increased circularity, policies that grant repair and reuse organizations—yes, even the local consignment store—tax exemption or that mandate composting is another strong first step toward individual, then communal, behavior change. On the global level, fair labor standards will help to rebalance the artificially low cost of new goods, further incentivizing a circular, and more equitable, system.
Individual decisions—whether a billionaire giving away his company to save the environment or a college freshman outfitting their dorm room with thrift-shop finds—are the drop that starts the ripple. Community connections and the right policies turn this ripple into a wave. By embracing circularity to understand our place within larger systems, the full breadth of our community’s power becomes clear.
Sandra Goldmark is the author of Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet and the director of the campus sustainability and climate action department at Barnard College.
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