Introduction

The Circular Business research group develops and provides business modeling tools that capture multiple value creation. The group thereby focuses on eco system circularity; (cross-sectoral) collaboration within and beyond value chains is needed to close the loop.

About the research group

dr. Kim Poldner

About the professor

dr. Kim Poldner

Kim has been a professor in the Faculty of Business, Finance & Marketing at The Hague University of Applied Sciences since 1 January 2019. She is also affiliated with Wageningen University & Research where she founded the Circular Fashion Lab. Through bringing together scientists and designers, the Circular Fashion Lab contributes to the creation of new ‘categories’ of materials previously unknown in the fashion industry, disruptive technologies that re-define textile supply-chains and inspired processes of organizing that turn competitors into comparables. Kim obtained her PhD from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland and has lived and worked abroad for nine years. She has extensive research experience and expertise in entrepreneurship, aesthetics and sustainability and has written award winning case studies on sustainable fashion pioneers such as Veja and Osklen.
Before she embarked on an academic career, Kim was founder of the first eco fashion store in The Netherlands in 2005 and initiator of online platform Eco Fashion World. Her green wardrobe, including her up cycled wedding dress, was exhibited during the exhibition Wear I Am in 2017. See: www.wur.eu/circularfashion  

+31 (0)6 - 39 08 20 85
k.a.poldner@hhs.nl

LinkedIn profile  Twitter account

The transition towards a circular economy is not so much a transition of materials and technologies, it is a transition of values.

Team

Wander Colenbrander

Wander Colenbrander

Wander Colenbrander

Wander conducts research as part of his doctorate into the connections between education, packaging, packaging design, sustainability and circularity.

w.h.colenbrander@hhs.nl

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Albert Kraaij

Albert Kraaij

Albert Kraaij

Albert is a passionate lecturer and researcher. He contributes to enabling students to make more sustainable decisions in economic education and with businesses in general.

a.kraaij@hhs.nl

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Rachel Kuijlenburg

Rachel Kuijlenburg

Rachel Kuijlenburg

Rachel studies the relationship between sustainability and general business processes such as cleaning and waste streams.

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Frans Lodders

Frans Lodders

Frans Lodders

Frans coordinates the Circular Business minor where students conduct research with companies into specific action perspectives for circular business operations.

f.lodders@hhs.nl

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Laura Stevens

Laura Stevens

Laura Stevens

Laura is Senior Lecturer at Industrial Design Engineering within the TIS faculty and PhD researcher at Delft University of Technology.

l.l.stevens@hhs.nl

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Dr. Elise van der Laan

Dr. Elise van der Laan

Dr. Elise van der Laan

Elise van der Laan is involved in the project Next Fashion Retail as a project coordinator and researcher.

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Ishawari Thopte

Ishwari Thopte

Ishwari Thopte

Named as one of the ‘25 forward thinkers defining the future of fashion’ and included in the Top 100 women in fashion tech, Ishwari is a certified business mentor and coach.

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Projects

Trashure: Design as catalyst for transitioning from linear to circular

Project goals are increasing awareness about textile consumption and specifically re-appreciating textile waste and enabling commercialization of an accessible product line that uses textile waste as primary resource.
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Next Fashion Retail

The range of sustainable clothing offered by SME multi-brand fashion retailers doesn't sell well. How can SME multi-brand fashion retailers design their customer journey to increase the sales of (more) sustainable clothing? 
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ReLead: Transforming leadership in the fashion industry

Designers, the creative heartbeat of the fashion and textile industry, often see themselves as the masterminds behind innovative creations, while relying on others to handle the business side and lead their teams. Unfortunately, this often translates into conventional leadership models that prioritise profits above the well-being of our planet and its people.
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Publications

Whitepaper

Policy brief 2023 Circular Business Operations

Our predominantly linear economy based on a take-make-dispose model of consumption is incompatible with the finite resources available to us on Earth.

Book

Circular Economy - Challenges and Opportunities for Ethical and Sustainable Business

How can we design circular business models? How can we organize the transition from a linear to a circular economy? And how can we imagine circular futures that help us transform current realities?
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News

15 March 2023

The Month of Circular Business

Research

During The Month of, we at Mission Zero put one of our research topics in the spotlight.
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26 January 2023

Fashion retailers are the nr. 1 influencers for consumers

Research

If you aim for more consumer awareness about sustainable fashion, you need to support retail entrepreneurs in how they…
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25 October 2022

Two THUAS studies nominated for RAAK award

Research

The RAAK award is the leading award in the Netherlands for practice-oriented research at universities of applied…
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