Product lifecycle

When it comes to materials and the product lifecycle, circular economy principles help guide how we think about products, materials and waste across the value chain. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation describes a circular economy as based on three principles: “eliminate waste and pollution”, “circulate products and materials” and “regenerate nature”.

Looking across the product lifecycle helps to show where these principles inform our work on materials, product creation, product use, waste and end of use. These areas are connected, and many of the practical conditions needed to circulate products and materials at scale – from collection and sorting to reuse and recycling – are still developing.

Material choices can affect how a product is made, used and cared for, and what options may be available later, such as reuse, repair, sorting or recycling. For example, the materials in a product can influence how durable it is, how it should be washed, whether it can be repaired, and what reuse or recycling options exist.

Manufacturing also affects a product’s lifecycle, as it uses energy, water, chemicals and materials, and can generate waste. After a product is sold, services such as resale, selected repair options, product care guidance and take-back or collection services can give customers more ways to use, access and pass on products.

When products are no longer wanted or usable, collection, sorting, reuse and recycling systems become important. What happens next is shaped by the product’s condition, material composition, quality and the infrastructure available.

Our work across materials and the product lifecycle is developing, and many areas are shaped by wider industry conditions. Progress relies not only on what companies do directly, but also on wider conditions such as available materials, sorting and recycling infrastructure, technology development, supply and demand, customer behaviour, policy and legislation.

Some areas, such as measuring recycled material use, are more established. Other areas, such as resale, repair or textile-to-textile recycling, are at different stages of maturity across markets, which affects how consistently they can be scaled and how their impact can be measured.

Advancing work across the product lifecycle depends on knowing where we can act directly, where progress relies on partners or wider systems, and where better data, infrastructure or market conditions are still needed.