At modulyss, we strive to bring the latest trends in soft flooring to the market, focusing on sustainable flooring solutions that align with circular economy principles. One of those principles is designing circular products. While circular design has been a trend for the past decade, we view it as a fundamental design principle. Designing for the future shouldn’t be fleeting, it should become a standard.
What is Circular Economy?
The circular economy minimises waste and maximises resource efficiency by keeping materials in use for as long as possible and recovering or regenerating them at the end of their lifecycle.
Unlike the throwaway culture of the linear economy, it’s designed to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials in closed-loop systems, regenerate nature, and foster collaboration across the supply chain.
Its environmental benefits include waste reduction, lower resource extraction, and enhanced biodiversity, while economic advantages range from cost savings and new business models to improved resilience and quality of life.
Embracing circularity drives innovation, resource equity, and educational shifts, empowering consumers and marginalised groups while ensuring fair resource distribution and adaptation to supply chain disruptions.
Circular Design Principles
The principles of circular design align closely with those of the circular economy:
- Design for Durability
- Design for Disassembly
- Design for Material Efficiency
- Design for Recyclability
- Design for Remanufacture
- Design for Biodegradability
- Design for Circular Business Models (such as products-as-a-service)
- Design for User Engagement
- Design for Digitalisation
- Design for Cultural Change
But how do you know if a product is circular?
One of the ways to check a products’ circularity, is by the certificates the product holds, for example the Cradle to Cradle certification. Products that meet a list of circular design properties receive a Cradle to Cradle Certificate®. The Cradle to Cradle Organisation scores each product in categories such as material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness. Based on specific criteria, products are certified at different levels: bronze, silver, gold, or platinum.
Green Building Practices
The circular design principles apply to green building practices:
- Building with eco-friendly materials
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Water conservation and management
- Passive design strategies
Implementing Circular Design
Talking about circular design is one thing but actually putting your money where your mouth is, is more important. Some architectural studios, such as Gensler, are implementing green building practices in their design processes. As a company, working together on your new building project with studios that specialise in green building can help lower your carbon footprint.
Want to know more on the principles, trends and innovations, and success stories within green building? Watch our three part modulyss Talks webinar series with our three experts in the field: Sabine Oberhuber, Lucie Ladigue and Naomi Sakamoto.
Our commitment
At modulyss we believe in a greener future. We aim to create closed-loop products, meaning they are designed to be repurposed into new products at the end of their life cycle.
In today’s architectural world, holding a Cradle to Cradle Certificate® proves to be beneficial. The demand from consumers and companies for certified products that contribute to a lower carbon footprint is increasing every year. To meet this demand and our commitment for circularity , modulyss offers several Cradle to Cradle Certified® Silver and Gold level collections, including Modus, Handcraft, Heritage, and Artcore of which the latter is entirely Gold level .
What makes these collections Cradle to Cradle Certified® (C2C)? The yarn we use to tuft our carpets is Econyl® yarn which is made from waste products such as old or discarded fishing nets, fabric waste, and industrial plastic. Choosing for Econyl®, is choosing for minimal waste and maximum conservation of natural resources.
These collections also feature the ecoBACK-backing, with an option to choose the comfortBACK ECO-backing, both of which are Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold level.
With these collections we answer to all categories within the Cradle to Cradle certification progress on gold and silver level.
Discover all our Cradle to Cradle Certified® collections.
Next to using Econyl® yarn and C2C-certified backings and collections, we have our Take Back. Give Back. programme, where with the help of our partners collect used carpet tiles and repurpose them as second hand tiles, as a resource for new tiles or backings or as a resource for the cement industry.
Designing to Give Back: From Sustainability to Regeneration
Elevate Your Brand: The Benefits of Choosing Eco-Friendly Materials in Design
Building the Future: Exploring Sustainable Solutions in Green Construction
