We are not rich enough to buy cheap

Sustainabiliy is getting more and more recognized in the world. Companies have been switching from linear operating system to circular way of doing business. As part of Intelectual Output 3 at the Erasmus+ project INFURI; INnovation in the FURniture Industry in the era of circular economy we have been researching what approaches to take and what are the first steps in switching the operating system from linear to circular. Fort his purpose we have been interwieving companies in all partner countries.

In a case of KNOF, the Institute for creative development from Posavje region of Slovenia, they took a different approach. The KNOF Institute has never operated according to a linear system because they believe that the circular way of doing business is more efficient in the long run. Establishing a company with a circular operating system was significantly more difficult to create compared to some classic companies. However the main goal to transition comes from the fact that we are not rich enough to buy cheap. Cheap things are usually of poorer quality and need to be replaced many times, which in the end means we waste more money on low quality furniture.

It is necessary to be creative in the process itself, but in the initial stages it is also necessary to find an external supporting environment, which can be done primarily by municipalities. With good arguments, the decision-makers  can be convinced to help, because only in this way can an individual company withstand a multi-year transition from a linear to a circular business model, financially demanding at the beginning. Transitions of this type help to change the systems as well as people's mentality about circularity.