Circularity for change

CSO: Info.nodes ETS
Area: Ciruclar Economy
Location:Milan – Lombardy Region

Type of project

A participatory and interdisciplinary circular economy program for graduates in the fashion and furniture sectors.

It is a participatory, interdisciplinary, and cross-cutting program aimed at graduates to develop projects/initiatives in circular economy within the fashion and furniture sectors.

Target (Disengaged)

The identified disengaged target – graduates – will be reached by promoting the project across all universities in Milan through agreements with professors of related subjects and student associations.

Graduates are a potentially disengaged target because they:

• Are concerned about the future: facing both economic and social uncertainties.
• Are focused on the short term: searching for a job, housing, financial stability, and their place in the world.
• Are disconnected from nature: Milan is the most densely built area in Italy, and some green policies may be seen or perceived as nuisances or restrictions that negatively impact quality of life (e.g., car bans).
• Have few opportunities for involvement: limited presence of initiatives aimed at them, with most focusing on younger people, families, or the elderly.
• Fear lack of impact: limited economic power and critical mass.
• Are skeptical: the topic is politicized, leading to detachment, disinterest, or suspicion and distrust.

Science – based

Both among the speakers and in the jury, there will be scientists/researchers (from related scientific disciplines such as Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Sustainability, etc.) who will support and mentor the teams. This will allow for the analysis of practical cases of impact reduction through circular economy initiatives and ensure the scientific rigor of the outputs presented in the projects.

Gender

Standard

Planned activities

• Workshop n.1 – Disrupting surrendering visions: In-person workshop with AI artists and climate scientists to imagine possible (and impossible) futures. The first step to transform passivity into action. At the end: formation of project teams.
• Workshop n.2 – Science and money: how to win bingo: Two scientists and two business experts meet the teams to provide concrete tools. We work on the scientific and economic sustainability of ideas.
• Mentoring – Let’s do it: Three months to meet online or hybrid between mentor and team. A tailor-made path to grow the projects and bring them to the final presentation.
• Final event – ​​Disengaged to whom?: Public pitch with mixed jury (scientists, entrepreneurs, journalists, PA). The 3 most promising projects win a support package: mentoring, visibility, workspaces and support for crowdfunding.
• Communication – Let’s Share It: Interviews, articles and podcasts to tell the story and spread a simple message: even those who don’t feel like “activists” can make a difference.

Action model

• Graduates are precisely the ones who can give a new direction and shape to the world right now, by coming together and innovating. They will be able to do this through this project:

  • Anti-waste: We don’t waste energy; we concentrate it to maximize results and then make them multiply in a cascading effect.
  • Leveraging the “power of the peaks”: It targets a specific, precise audience, is sharp, and has power—it truly makes an impact and leaves a mark.

  How:

  • Disrupting disengagement
  • Concreting change implementation
  • Promoting collective responsibility