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Design Researchers in Residence

How can design researchers create a more circular industry from the inside?

Rebecca Earley, Kate Goldsworthy & Kay Politowicz

If you are a fashion brand who wants to be part of the circular economy and who has already begun these conversations within the company, then you will know that becoming ‘circular’ is extremely challenging. Brands need to collaborate across multiple sectors – and getting the internal design team to do this can be tricky. At the same time, academic researchers and other experts need to find ways to apply and contextualise their knowledge, if they want to contribute their ideas in an impactful and meaningful way to the creation of a less-impactful fashion industry. This report documents the workshop facilitation approach between the Centre for Circular Design team and a Swedish fashion brand, Filippa K, during the Circular Design Speeds project. The report concludes with a model for Circular Design Researchers in Residence – this is the what we would do now if we were starting now version. We hope this will provide a blueprint for those that might follow in similar footsteps – academic researchers and industry partners from all design disciplines and sectors, working side-by-side in the same room to make real change through new products, systems and processes for our future circular economies.

You can read the report here.

The front cover of a report called 'circular design researchers in residence - a workshop reoprt for the circualr design speeds project with Fillipa K (2016-2018)