Samenvatting

The contemporary use of resources in the ‘take-make-waste’ economy accounts for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. Therefore, the status quo of business operations needs to be changed. This study aims to find out how a circular business ecosystem, that consists of multiple companies in the Netherlands that are going to develop locally produced bio-based curtains, should be established with a degrowth mindset. It was found that the main barriers are the missing links within the proposed ecosystem, and the potentially high selling price of the bio-based curtains. A close collaboration between the entities that is based on high levels of trust, openness, and transparency has been found as the main enabler, in which a common goal should be pursued. The smart circular product design is also a crucial enabler. To achieve financial sustainability, a spinning, weaving, and recycling company need to be included in the ecosystem, that should be locally and sufficiency oriented.
The product-as-a-service strategy has been found as the best strategy to apply, that includes a maintenance and a take-back service. To sell the product and to promote sustainable customer awareness, a collective value proposition should be communicated by means of storytelling. Regarding the industry applicability, it was found that chain transparency, international knowledge-sharing, and continuous feedback loops are the most important drivers.
In this way, resources can be mutualized, and collaboration can be encouraged within the Dutch bio-based industry to accelerate the national and international transition, by acting locally to share knowledge globally.