With the new ban on the destruction of unsold apparel and footwear, the question of how companies can avoid surpluses and make the best possible use of unavoidable stocks while preserving their value is gaining importance.
The LebensLänger Sectoral Meeting for Textiles
The LebensLänger project was launched earlier in 2026 as a collaboration between WWF, Wuppertal Institute, Runder Tisch Reparatur, University of Bamberg and CSCP.
As part of the Circular Week 2026, the project will host its first sector-specific meeting for the textile industry, bringing together diverse perspectives to explore how circularity can be advanced across the sector.
“This sector-specific meeting will explore different strategies: from produce-on-demand and timeless design to new cooperation models for the continued use of surplus products and the practical implementation of regulatory requirements.”, Dr. Britta Holzberg, CSCP Senior Expert.
In breakout groups, participants will exchange experiences, reflect on the approaches presented, and jointly explore opportunities for their own operations as well as strategies to overcome key challenges.
Event: Ban of textile destruction – Now What? Approaches to Avoid Surpluses and Preserve Product Value Date: 28 October 2026 Time: 13:00–15:00h Place: Online Cost: Free of charge Contact: Dr. Britta Holzberg and Livia El-Khawad
To join us, please register here!
After registering for the network, you will receive additional information, including the Zoom meeting link for the event.
Find out more about the LebensLänger project here.
LebensLänger is coordinated by WWF Germany and implemented together with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy, the University of Bamberg, Runder Tisch Reparatur e.V., and the CSCP.
The LebensLänger project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) as part of the National Climate Protection Initiative (NKI).
For general questions on the LebensLänger project, please contact Marc Böker.
Curious why the Circular Week 2026 has become one of the primary meeting points to discuss the future of circularity in our cities?
In this mini-podcast, Michael Kuhndt, Executive Director of the CSCP, and Agnieszka Sznyk, President of the INNOWO Board, explore the idea at the heart of the Circular Week: bringing together people and organisations that don’t always sit around the same table and creating space for honest conversations and new connections.
They explore the shift of the circular economy towards a strategic priority and discuss the role of cities as places where many of the challenges of the circular transition become tangible—but also where new approaches can be tested and solutions developed.
Listen in for an inspiring conversation on the people, places and perspectives that can help move the circular transition forward—and join us at the Circular Week 2026.
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Check out the full Circular Week 2026 programme here to find out who the speakers are.
To join the Online Conference of the Circular Week, please register here.
For additional, please contact Nils Kreft.
What if the products we throw away were never meant to be waste at all? As new EU rules push circularity from ambition to obligation, companies across key sectors are striving to keep value in the loop. As part of the LebensLänger project, we are launching a cross-sectoral business network to address exactly this: learning together, sharing experiences and generating momentum for more circularity.
The event will take place on 28 October 2026, within the framework of the Circular Week.
Launching the Business Network
The kick-off of the business network will introduce the LebensLänger project and its vision, contextualise recent WWF study findings on circular business models with related CSCP project work, and give participants the chance to voice their challenges, needs and expectations for the network in breakout groups. A keynote from business practice will round off the programme.
Event: Kick-Off Meeting LebensLänger Business Network Date: 28 October 2026 Time: 10:30–12:00h Place: Online Cost: Free of charge
A sector-specific meeting for textiles will also take place as part of the Circular Week 2026, under the title “Ban of Textile Destruction—Now What? Join Us to Discuss Strategies to Avoid Surpluses and Preserve Value”. Read more and register to join here!
Find out more about the LebensLänger project on the dedicated page.
To join us, please register here.
Ever touched, tasted, or felt the future of sustainability? At a dedicated event on the bio-based and blue solutions as part of the Circular Week 2026, our interactive algae journeys invite you to explore the untapped potential of algae—hands-on, immersive, and unforgettable.
At the event, which takes place in Warsaw, Poland the CSCP AlagePro BANOS team will host two interactive algae journeys, building on the success of the “Feel the Sea” exhibition at the EU Algae Awareness Summit 2025. These immersive experiences are designed to surprise, spark curiosity, and forge a tangible connection with algae—an organism humans have utilised at least 30,000 years.
Growing Tomorrow’s Economy – Bio-Based and Blue Solutions
On 27 October 2026, visitors at the German Embassy in Warsaw can explore algae’s role in a circular future during the conference “Growing Tomorrow’s Economy – Bio-Based and Blue Solutions”.
The exhibition will showcase real algae products, from raw species to final innovations, allowing attendees to touch, taste, and experience the potential of algae firsthand.
Later that day, Pawel Zylka, CSCP Project Manager will join the panel “Future Agricultural Systems & Blue Food” to discuss how algae can scale as a sustainable solution in Europe’s bioeconomy. The conversation will bridge science, policy, and public engagement, emphasising how interactive experiences like these journeys can accelerate acceptance and adoption.
Taking the Algae Story to the European Sustainability Congress 2026
On 29 October 2026, the journey continues at the European Sustainability Congress 2026, one of the biggest and most relevant conferences in Poland on circular economy and sustainable development. The AlgaePro BANOS team is looking forward to engage the audience and let them explore algae’s applications in climate, food, textiles, and beyond.
“Algae are more than a resource—they’re a catalyst for circularity. By making their potential tangible, we’re turning curiosity into action.”, says Pawel Zylka.
For additional information and to join the event, click here.
For further questions, please contact Pawel Zylka.
How can cities and regions become more circular, resilient and locally productive while remaining connected to global knowledge and networks? On 30 October 2026, the Fab City Gathering in Wuppertal, Germany will bring local and international actors together to explore the next chapter of the Fab City movement. During the Circular Week 2026, the FAB Region, together with the Fab City Foundation, will host the Fab City Gathering 2026 in Wuppertal. The event brings together Fab Cities, Circular Cities, Fab Labs, Living Labs, creative hubs, municipalities, researchers, policymakers and practitioners from Germany, Europe and beyond.
From individual labs to territorial ecosystems
Fab Cities are increasingly moving beyond the idea of individual fabrication laboratories towards a broader understanding of cities and regions as connected ecosystems of people, knowledge, infrastructures and productive capacities.
This raises important questions: How can local labs and hubs become epicentres of resilience and community-driven innovation? How can their knowledge and capabilities connect with municipalities, businesses, research institutions and civil society? And what governance structures are needed to sustain these ecosystems beyond individual projects and funding periods?
The Fab City Gathering will create a strategic space to address these questions through local, national and international inputs, practical experiences and interactive exchange.
Connecting data, governance and local capacities
The programme will address the Fab City Goals, Fab City Hubs, the Fab City Full Stack, policy and governance, and the research agenda of the Fab City Foundation PLANETAI Observatory. Focus will be placed on the role of data and knowledge in territorial transformation.
Understanding what resources, infrastructures, skills and initiatives exist within a city or region can help to identify gaps, connect actors, make more informed decisions, and create more efficient systems., says Adriana Cabrera Galindez, CSCP Project Manager.
This is also where local and global perspectives meet. Global networks can provide shared frameworks, knowledge and learning across territories, while each city and region needs solutions rooted in its own social, economic and productive realities.
The Gathering will explore questions such as: How can Fab Cities and Circular Cities learn from one another? How can local capacities and their impact become more visible and measurable? How can data support the transition towards greater circularity and self-sufficiency? And how can global networks strengthen local transformation without losing sight of territorial diversity?
By the end of the Gathering, we aim to bring these experiences and perspectives together with participants from across the region, translating shared knowledge into concrete insights for the future governance, sustainability and continuity of the Fab Region, and for other initiatives working towards more sustainable and resilient territories. The Gathering is ultimately a space for exchange, learning and transfer, but also for shaping what comes next. If you want to be part of this conversation and bring your voice and experience, join us in Wuppertal, Germany.
Building the next chapter together
The experience of the FAB Region Bergisch city triangle – Wuppertal, Solingen and Remscheid – provides a concrete regional context for this conversation. Through the project, local and international networking, capacity mapping and collaboration between different actors have been explored as important building blocks for strengthening a distributed and circular regional ecosystem.
Event: Fab City Gathering 2026 Date: 30 October 2026 Place: Wuppertal, Germany Language: English Cost: Free of charge
Due to limited venue capacity, please register now to secure your spot! To explore the full Circular Week 2026 programme, go to the dedicated page.
For further questions, please contact Adriana Cabrera Galindez.
Cristina Fedato, Head of Sustainable Infrastructure, Products, and Services at the CSCP has a long experience in supporting cities to become more circular. In this short interview, she argues that circular change doesn’t happen through one lever alone. It’s how they work together that makes the difference.
Why are cities uniquely positioned to accelerate the circular transition?
Cities are where the circular transition becomes tangible. They shape the environment, manage infrastructure and public services, procure goods and services, and work directly with citizens and businesses. This gives them the opportunity to connect strategic ambitions with practical implementation.
At the same time, no city can deliver the transition alone. Accelerating Circular Economy requires close collaboration between municipalities, businesses, academia, and regional, national and policymakers. Cities are uniquely positioned to bring these actors together, test new approaches and create demand for circular solutions. When successful approaches are shared and scaled, cities become powerful catalysts for transformation far beyond their own boundaries.
Which lever for Circular Cities is currently the most underestimated?
We often discuss individual levers such as financing, procurement, governance or advisory support in isolation. In reality, progress depends on how these levers work together. Even the best funding programme or procurement strategy will have limited impact if governance structures are fragmented or organisations lack the flexibility to experiment, learn and adapt.
One of the most underestimated success factors is therefore the ability to connect these enabling conditions. More flexible structures, stronger partnerships and continuous knowledge exchange can help cities move beyond isolated pilot projects and accelerate implementation at scale and create long lasting results.
Looking ahead to 2035, what would make you say: “We’ve truly made progress towards Circular Cities.”?
By 2035, I hope to see that Circular Economy strategies and flagship projects have become the starting point rather than the end goal. Their success should be visible in the way circular principles are routinely, easily and concretely embedded in procurement, urban development, infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
I would also hope to see stronger collaboration between cities, businesses and governments, with proven solutions being transferred and adapted rather than reinvented. If Circular Economy has become part of everyday municipal decision making and cities are systematically learning from one another, then we will have made real progress towards Circular Cities.
In my personal vision for the future, I hope we reach a day when a child asks, “What does waste mean?” — and the answer is: “It’s something we had to deal with in the past.”
For a comprehensive take on the role of cities in the circular transition, please see also this other interview of Cristina Fedato.
Join Cristina Fedato at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot!
To explore the full Circular Week 2026 programme, please visit the dedicated page.
For all other questions, please contact Nils Kreft.
Technology alone won’t make the circular transition happen. People equipped with the right skills will. Read more in this 3-question interview with Marc Böker, CSCP Senior Expert.
Everyone talks about new technologies, but why are skills just as important for the circular transition?
Let’s be clear: Without people and their skills, technology is not going to work. Despite all the impressive technological advancements, especially around AI, this is fundamentally not going to change. Furthermore, digital technology, including AI, needs solid data in order to produce effective results, which in turn needs people who understand data and manage that data.
Another example: With scarce resources, we need to keep materials in the economic circle, that is, we need to repair and reuse stuff much more. To do that, we need more people who have the technical skills to repair stuff. This will lead to a renaissance and much stronger appreciation of craft skilled trades such as mechanics, repair technicians, plumbers, and others.
Which future skill do you think will become indispensable for cities, companies, and people in order to advance the Circular Economy over the next decade?
There is, of course, not the one skill that will serve as a magic wand. However, it is obvious that enabling the Circular Economy requires many different actors in urban or regional society to collaborate towards circularity. People who understand that ecosystem of different actors, who look at it from a systems point of view, who appreciate and hold its complexity, and who know how to navigate and influence the system through horizontal, non-hierarchical collaboration, will be much needed to drive the required transformation.
With this systems-thinking ability also comes critical thinking capacity, which effectively includes the ability to distinguish facts from false information.
If you could equip every municipality or urban actor in Europe with one digital tool or one capability, what would you choose and why?
Availability and interoperability of relevant, good-quality data is a key enabler of a Circular Economy. On that basis, the capability to analyse, connect, and understand data, including the technical capabilities linked to that, is crucial for municipalities and urban actors in Europe.
Join Marc Böker at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot!
A circular future cannot happen without people. The challenge is to move beyond just asking citizens to change their behaviour and into creating the conditions, services and systems that make circular choices simple, affordable, trustworthy and attractive.
Don’t miss the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026, where we will discuss what’s needed to engage citizens in the circular transition in a dedicated track.
What this track is about?
This track explores what it takes to put people at the heart of the circular transition. From the way products and services are offered to the role of digital tools, education, logistics and local initiatives, it looks at how we can remove barriers and create everyday opportunities for people to act.
A guide into the sessions
The Mind-Opening Session, “Circularity Made Easy: From Consumer Awareness to Better Everyday Offers,” asks how circular living can become the default one, built into the products, services, infrastructure and offers that people encounter every day.
The Pioneer Sessions bring this perspective into practice: exploring how logistics and supply chains can respond to consumer needs, how digital tools and platforms can enable circular behaviour, and how education, awareness and participation can empower people to act in their everyday lives.
Your host: Rosa Strube
“A circular future only works if people see themselves in it. The real question is therefore not just how to involve citizens, but how to give them a genuine stake in shaping the cities and systems they depend on and making everyday life better in the process.”
Rosa Strube is Head of Sustainable Lifestyles at CSCP. Her work explores how we can make sustainable choices easier and more meaningful for people to truly engage. Read her interview to learn more about how we can engage citizens in the circular transition.
To join the Online Conference, please register here.
To engage with us on the topic of repair, please reach out to Rosa Strube directly!
In this 3-question interview, Rosa Strube, Head of Sustainable Lifestyles unpacks why citizens can’t be an afterthought in the circular transition and what it takes to truly engage them.
Citizens are key to the circular transition. So, how can we meaningfully involve them in making it happen?
People are at the heart of every major transformation. Without their meaningful inclusion, efforts to change systems will ultimately fail. Circular change initiatives should therefore put citizens at the centre of participatory processes, ensuring their ideas are heard and understood while building the motivation, capabilities and opportunities needed for change.
At the same time, we need to point out the benefits of circular systems for people’s everyday lives: more self-determination, less dependence on others, a shared transition towards greater wellbeing, and the opportunity to design cities in a way that truly benefits the people who live in them.
Fortunately, there are already many positive examples: civil society initiatives transforming urban spaces into places for connection and happier living, companies developing new business models and enabling longer-term engagement with their products, or city governments involving citizens in decision-making and co-creation.
Where do discussions around circular economy often overlook the needs and realities of citizens?
Circular solutions can seem harder on the individual level at first. The way the linear economy is structured today makes it feel like everything is available at any time for a low price. Circularity acknowledges that there is a different way: one that is more sustainable, more independent and ultimately more fulfilling. But it can be difficult to see the true benefits of the transition, because “new” has been considered “better” and “easier” for a long time.
Our goal is to show that prosperity is possible and more long-term oriented within circular economy systems. However, the time and money required for circular practices, the need to learn new or forgotten skills, and the perceived lower quality of “old” resources can stand in the way of widespread adoption.
The same holds true for companies: long-term-oriented circular business models can go against existing structures and seem more complicated than beneficial.
That’s why I can’t say it enough: we need to make the benefits of circular models clearer as much as we need to create the right conditions for circular choices, bring the right stakeholders together, and give a hand to those already willing to engage with the circular economy.
What do you hope participants will do differently after taking part in your track?
All the sessions in Track 3: Engaging Citizens are designed to encourage and empower participants to act. We will share inspiring examples of initiatives and communities where circular practices have successfully reached and inspired large numbers of people. We will also look into available tools, both digital and in the real world, for engaging with circular practices in their personal lives as well as at the community or city level. So, I hope the end of the conference will be the start of new action from those who will attend.
Join Rosa Strube at the Online Conference of the Circular Week 2026. Register here to secure your spot!
In a world of fast consumption and ever-shorter product lifetimes, repair offers a simple way to keep products and resources in use for longer. Yet the skills, infrastructure and culture needed to repair are increasingly at risk of being lost. A new campaign in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany wants to change that by bringing together thousands of individual repairs as part of a collective campaign and a world-record attempt.
Check out this FAQ about the World Record Campaign (in German)
Bringing repair back
Repairing broken or damaged goods used to be a normal part of everyday life. Buying something new wasn’t always the go-to option, and many people had the tools and skills to fix things themselves. Over time, mass production, technological change and shifting lifestyles have changed that. Today, it is often easier to throw something away and buy a newer version. But this convenience comes with hidden costs: depleted natural resources, unnecessary emissions and huge amounts of un-recyclable waste. There is another way, however, that we used to know: ask your grandparents!
Investing in a repair culture
Repair can be a skill challenge, a fun activity to do together and a way to save money and resources. Whether we repair something ourselves, join a local repair initiative or open workshop, or use a professional repair service, keeping products in use is often a better alternative to replacing them.
The Repair World Record NRW
Together with repair initiatives, businesses and people across the region, we want to repair 4,000 items in one month and break the current British record of 3,177 repaired items, set in 2024.
The initiative is part of the Circular Week 2026 and will culminate in a big finale: on 31 October, the Repair & Share Festival in Wuppertal will bring the repair community together for a Repair Café XXL and a live countdown to the world record.
Hosted by the FAB Region Bergisches Städtedreieck and the Netzwerk Reparatur Wuppertal, the festival invites repair enthusiasts and initiatives from across NRW to join the celebration. Find out more about the Repair & Share Festival.
Want to contribute to the world record?
Then simply join in! Dig out that broken lamp, repair your favourite piece of clothing, fix your bike or finally tackle that household appliance you’ve been meaning to fix. Use your skills, your tools or the support of a repair initiative near you.
Once you’ve completed a repair, simply go to the World Record Campaign website and register it. It takes less than a minute – and every repair counts.
Will you be part of it? Because the real goal isn’t just to set a world record, but to show that repair can become normal again.
You’re a repair initiative that wants to participate? Get in touch with reparatur@cscp.org.
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