Bulk Friday or Black Friday?

Hello everyone,

My father was telling me the other day that it took a little while for bulk distribution to take hold. Back in your time, consumers preferred "packaged goods" nicely wrapped in layers of mostly useless packaging.

I'm very surprised because in 2033, where I'm writing to you from at the age of 15, "bulk distribution month" no longer exists... and that's good news! We do not have a special packaging month for bulk distribution because it is our default distribution/packaging format. As a society we have completely switched how we access products, how we 'do not package' products anymore.

How did we switch? We took into account the increase in the costs of materials, of household waste collection and processing. Companies have had to review their conditioning methods so that bulk packaging has finally become the norm... not only in the food sector but also in cosmetics, cleaning products and drinks...

There are products that have become commonplace. For example, at home and at school I use Squizz reusable water bottles and Fill Good bulk bags. For shopping we have shops with big containers where we use our own bags or pots. My favourite is called the Naked Shop, for cosmetics and cleaning products.

In short, if you haven't already started, go and discover all the events and support offered by Réseau Vrac and its partners. You'll probably be one of those who start changing the packaging norms in 2023!

Joséphine from 2033

Why are bulk sales stay a promising distribution format for the future ?

In 2019, the bulk market reached a total value of 1.2 billion euros in the world. Despite its recent success, the COVID19 negatively impacted the sector with the increase in online shopping, shops closure and the fear of contamination.

In 2022, bulk distribution is regulated in France and other European countries. Consumers are finally experiencing the savings that bulk distribution can offer and brands are realising the CO2 emissions reduction potential of this new distribution model.

📃 Circulab and The Open Society Foundation
Circulab delivered an extensive research report on the circular economy deployment potential for vulnerable communities in the EU. The report analysed the state of play of the Circular Economy across the union and delved into the regulatory landscape of the EU 26 countries and their respective circular economy roadmap. The research also investigated the financing mechanisms for CE across the EU and the role of microfinance and social venture capital funding.

🌎 🏫 Circulab and UNESCO
Circulab concluded the 'Greening of Technical and vocation training centres' project with the UNESCO. A 6 months long project to train education personnel and graduates in 5 centres in Latin America and in the middle east. An impactful project to embed circular economy principles in the curricula of the various centres. Some of the centres being large operators (with more than 300 education centres per country), it is a project that we hope will sow the seeds for further collaboration with UNESCO and the different centres.

👋 Welcome Vicky!
Vicky joined the Circulab adventure a week ago for an internship as part of her E-learning designer training. Coming from a management, communication and digital learning background, her missions revolve around the creation and improvement of Circulab Academy's training courses. Vicky will help to make the e-learning experience even better ;-)

👨‍🏫 Circular Economy Masterclass at ESSEC
Few weeks ago, our Circulab Academy manager, Fabrice Sorin, delivered a masterclass on Circular Economy to executive MBA students at ESSEC business school. This short introduction to the circular economy presented the basics of the concept, the opportunities, challenges and potential deployment pathways. A lively discussion arose with the students from this masterclass that will be followed by further workshops on 2023.

What are the community members up to?

🇧🇪 A workshop with Circular Canvas at EPHEC
The Belgian family within Circulab community got together on February 2nd at EPHEC to share the method and the tools with the local entrepreneurs and professionals. We were happy to meet again with former clients, friends and future Circulab Community members.

🌱 Seed Hope, a training programme for managers, by Hugues Dethienne
Le Germoir des Fontaines, an incubator in Wavre, Belgium, of which Hugues is a co-founder, has just launched a new training programme for managers who want to start by their personal transformation in order to help the transition of the companies. Find out more here (in French).

🇵🇪 A new post-graduate diploma in Circular Economy in Peru, by Jorge Ueyonahara
Universidad Científica del Sur, Circulab Community member in Lima, launched a new diploma aimed at executives and professionals who wish to implement Circular Economy models in their organisations. The course was co-built and is delivered by the University’s professors, Jorge Ueyonahara and Justine Laurent over 9 months on a weekly basis with modules every Saturday to adapt to the students’ work schedules. Find out more here (in Spanish).