Circular Future Fund Projects Driving a Sustainable Economy

Circular Future Fund: Pioneering Projects for a Sustainable Tomorrow

The Circular Future Fund—an initiative by the John Lewis Partnership in collaboration with environmental charity Hubbub—was established to spur innovation in the circular economy. With £1 million raised from the sale of 10p plastic bags, the Fund supported ambitious projects designed to challenge the wasteful “make–use–throw-away” culture and inspire systemic change in diverse industries.

About the Circular Future Fund

Launched in late 2021, the Fund invited businesses, charities, social enterprises, and academic bodies to submit ideas tackling waste and advancing resource efficiency. Four projects were selected from 245 applications and received grants between £150,000 and £300,000 each to bring their circular innovations to life. The winners were chosen by a panel of experts in sustainability, circular business models, and grant-making, prioritizing measurable impact and long-term legacy.

• Championing circularity: The Fund supported solutions designing out waste in everyday products.
• Fostering collaboration: Hubbub offered guidance and resources to amplify winners’ ambitions.
• Sharing knowledge: Learnings, challenges, and outcomes from each project are shared openly to inspire industry-wide progress.

The Four Winning Projects

Each selected project reimagined waste and consumption in its field, from menstrual health and children’s footwear to community repair and innovative recycling technologies. Below, we explore each winner’s vision, progress, and lasting impact.

1. DAME: Making Reusable Menstrual Products Mainstream

DAME focused on accelerating the adoption of reusable menstrual cups to reduce single-use plastic waste from menstrual products. Traditional disposable menstruation products can take centuries to break down and contribute to landfill and ocean pollution. By promoting the mainstream use of reusable alternatives, DAME envisioned a future of drastically reduced period-related waste.

Key Achievements:

• Developed an accessible, user-friendly reusable menstrual cup and supporting educational resources.
• Implemented a nationwide awareness campaign to break taboos and inform consumers, leading to marked increases in product uptake.
• Collaborated with schools and workplaces to encourage institutional support for sustainable menstrual health solutions.

DAME’s efforts have seen reusable cups gain traction beyond eco-conscious niches, with more consumers recognizing the health, financial, and environmental benefits of durable alternatives.

2. Pip & Henry: Reinventing Children’s Footwear for Longevity

Pip & Henry, a young footwear brand, set out to tackle the issue of short-lived children’s shoes—which are often outgrown before they are worn out. Their circular redesign incorporated durability, repair, and recyclability to extend the product life and minimize landfill waste.

Major Innovations:

• Engineered shoes with modular, replaceable components (such as soles and insoles), making it easy to repair or update them as needed.
• Used sustainable, recycled, and recyclable materials—ensuring shoes could be responsibly processed at their end-of-life.
• Conducted research into children’s growth patterns and footwear needs to optimize sizing and adjustability, allowing shoes to better keep up with young wearers.

Through workshops, customer engagement, and industry partnerships, Pip & Henry championed circular design in the children’s footwear sector, inspiring both parents and manufacturers to reconsider the single-use mentality.

“This grant really propelled our ambitions, giving us the resources to get into the depths of material research, understand the complexities around the physics of what we design, and create operationally feasible solutions—all while keeping the customer at the heart.”
—Jeroo Doodhmal, Founder & CEO, Pip & Henry

3. Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC): Lend and Mend Hubs in Libraries

The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) piloted Lend and Mend Hubs in public libraries, empowering local communities to borrow, repair, and upcycle everyday items rather than buy new ones.

Impact Highlights:

• Transformed libraries into trusted community spaces for sustainability, offering resources and training on mending clothing, household goods, and small appliances.
• Enabled families facing financial pressures to access affordable and sustainable choices, reducing the need for new purchases.
• Promoted skills-sharing through workshops, fostering a culture of care and repair instead of disposability.

By leveraging libraries’ reputation as inclusive, agenda-free spaces, SLIC created practical, grassroots opportunities for everyday circularity, bringing the benefits of waste reduction directly to citizens.

“With the ongoing cost of living crisis, Lend and Mend Hubs have the potential to support families to make more sustainable choices. Libraries can provide a space for communities to take action through practical, everyday solutions.”
—Marion Kunderan, Head of Programme, SLIC

4. University of Leeds: Next-Generation Polyester Recycling

The University of Leeds delivered breakthrough technology for recycling polyester textiles—one of the world’s most pervasive and problematic synthetic fibers. Globally, around 57 million tonnes of polyester fiber are produced each year, yet the vast majority ends up incinerated or landfilled after single use.

Project Outcomes:

• Developed an innovative CO₂-based technology enabling polyester textiles (including difficult-to-recycle blends) to be mechanically recycled multiple times without significant degradation of quality.
• Demonstrated the technology on not just polyester, but also other fabrics, such as denim, and showcased its ability to remove dyes during the process.
• Began scaling up for industrial testing and initiated a comprehensive environmental lifecycle analysis to maximize efficiency and minimize ecological footprint.

By sharing discoveries with global textile and recycling industries, the University of Leeds aims to drive wide adoption and commercialization of truly circular polyester recycling, offering transformative change for fashion and manufacturing worldwide.

Driving Industry-Wide Impact

The Circular Future Fund recognized that small, focused innovations can drive large-scale transformation. By backing businesses and organizations less than five years old and supporting community projects, the Fund fostered fresh thinking and practical experimentation. Each project not only delivered direct environmental impact, but also gathered vital learnings about user behavior, manufacturing processes, and scalable models for circularity.

Key success factors included:

• Targeting points of high waste (e.g., single-use products, fast fashion, rapid outgrowth in children’s goods).
• Collaborative, cross-sectoral efforts (bringing together schools, libraries, researchers, and businesses).
• Commitment to open knowledge sharing, spreading approaches beyond initial pilots.
• Careful measurement and transparent reporting of both the positive outcomes and ongoing challenges.

Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead

The experience of recipients revealed essential insights for future sustainability initiatives:

• Changing entrenched habits requires persistent advocacy, creative communication, and accessible design.
• Circular projects benefit from stakeholder engagement (e.g., involving children and parents in shoe design, or staff and patrons in library-based repair hubs).
• Innovation needs patient support to tackle technical and operational hurdles, especially for advanced materials recycling.
• Legacy is built by inspiring others: through public reporting, open discussions, and partnerships, these projects lay the groundwork for scalability and replication.

“The four projects, while very different in nature, shared an ambition to bring innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial approaches to designing out waste in their respective sectors. This forward-thinking fund, along with the winners’ hard work and dedication, has enabled them to find tangible solutions and gain huge amounts of insight and knowledge.”
—Saskia Restorick, Director, Hubbub

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is an economic model focused on designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible, and regenerating natural systems.

How were the Circular Future Fund winners chosen?

An independent panel of experts selected four winners from 245 applicants, prioritizing measurable impact, innovation, and the ability to create a powerful legacy for their sectors.

What makes the winning projects unique?

Each project applied circular principles to a different real-world challenge—menstrual products, children’s footwear, community repair, and textile recycling—developing innovative solutions with the potential for broad adoption and long-term change.

Can these circular models be adopted elsewhere?

Yes. The goal of the Fund was not only to implement pilots, but to openly share results and inspire others in similar sectors to build upon these innovations, accelerating national and global transitions to circularity.

Where can I learn more about sustainable living and circular economy projects?

Organizations like Hubbub, the John Lewis Partnership, and local libraries offer educational campaigns, workshops, and online resources to help individuals and businesses adopt sustainable, circular behaviors.