Circular narratives for a sustainable age
In an era of greenwashing, true sustainability starts with honest storytelling. We explore how designers, creators, and companies are using circular narratives to build trust, inspire change, and shape the culture of sustainability.
There is a new dynamic emerging in storytelling—one that loops rather than lines and reimagines endings as beginnings. From fashion to architecture to product design, circularity has become more than a sustainability strategy. It’s a story told with humility and truth that inspires change and redefines meaning.
Where linear production once drove progress, circular thinking invites stillness, transforming abstract responsibility into emotional resonance. It’s about progress, not perfection. And it asks: what if every thing could tell more than one story?
The concept of circular economy garnered early attention through the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose research reframes waste as a design flaw rather than a necessity. In Ellen’s own words, “the decisions we make today affect what's left for tomorrow” and as such, the world needs “a better understanding of the word finite”. In fashion, Stella McCartney stands among the most visible advocates of circularity, using regenerative fibres and closed-loop processes to create collections that are both luxurious and conscientious. Meanwhile, experimental studios such as Formafantasma use storytelling to explore the origins, politics, and circularity of materials themselves. Their project Ore Streams, for example, examines e-waste and the invisible ecosystems that sustain modern consumption; and suggests that design possibilities to improve recycling have been vastly underestimated by lawmakers in both the developed and developing countries.
These practices signal a cultural shift, telling us that design no longer serves only to produce beauty but also to narrate how each object becomes an element of a larger sustainability story.
The rise in popularity of resale platforms, repair movements and rental models in both fashion and furniture indicate that modern consumers view ownership differently. According to research by GlobalData and the 2025 ThredUp Report, resale is positioned for a period of accelerated growth following an already steady growth over the last decade. Brands such as Vitra and Artek now promote lifetime repair schemes; while rental platforms like Nuuly and Rent the Runway also reported growth in 2024. All of which is narrative in that it tells stories of objects that grow and evolve rather than expire.
Circular narratives reinforce the idea that creation is not an isolated act but part of a continuum. As Paola Antonelli of MoMA said, “Good design is not about perfection—it’s about consequences.” To think circularly is to accept that design lives on, long after it leaves the studio.
Environmental psychologists believe that humans form emotional attachments through meaningful interaction with objects and surroundings—what anthropologist Tim Ingold calls “the life of things.” Circularity taps into this innate desire for continuity. When we repair rather than replace, we strengthen our memories and our relationship with what surrounds us. When materials are sourced locally or recycled thoughtfully, they carry stories that enrich rather than diminish their value.
We have to hope that this shift towards circular narratives is a cultural awakening where each product, building, or garment becomes part of a shared ecology of stories that are written, unwritten, and rewritten again. Thus forming a looping rhythm of reuse and renewal, which mirrors the natural world we so often seek to emulate. Waste becomes material; material becomes memory. The story circles back—not closed, but continuous.