Thomas Panton: “In 2050, the majority of consumer products will be circular”

Thomas Panton is the co-founder and CEO of Canopey – a online marketplace that will soon allow consumers to buy “greener goods” from over 180 vetted brands, “all under one roof.” He previously ran Festovers, the first company in the UK to be contracted by event and festival organisers to collect and upcycle abandoned tents.

Last week, Thomas and I had an incredibly interesting chat about circularity which touched on many things. To keep this piece short enough to be skimmed between meetings (my aim for this newsletter), I’ve decided to focus on the conversation we had around increasing consumer adoption of circular (or “better”) products.

Below is a summary of that conversation, edited for brevity and clarity. 

I'll be honest: before we chatted, I knew very little about the circular economy. If, like me, you’re relatively new to the concept or would like to brush up on your understanding, I’d highly recommend checking out this short introduction from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation , before reading on.

Thomas, thanks for agreeing to chat. I’d love to start by talking a bit about your background. Where does your interest in circularity come from? 

I first got involved with the Green Movement fifteen years ago, after watching Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’. In 2016, I started working for Greenpeace – the world's largest independent environmental organisation – and I was with them for about five years. A lot of the solutions that they’re providing to companies and governments really bring in the idea of the circular economy and not thinking of nature and business as siloed things. Working for them was where those first thoughts and ideas of what the future is going to look like really came from.

Greenpeace was, of course, founded in 1971 – over fifty years ago now. Has the conversation around circularity been going on for that long?

I’d say it’s been going on for even longer than that. It really began centuries, maybe even thousands of years ago. Back when we were just animals and lived within nature (as opposed to living in the society we do today), we had a circular economy.  

The conversation has definitely become more prominent again but it’s had its ups and downs. In the late 60s/early 70s, it rose. Environmental organisations like Greenpeace really started coming to the forefront of people’s minds and questioned the industry and the economy that we’ve built. In the 80s and through the 90s, we fell into mass plastic consumerism and, then in the early 2000s, you had the internet boom and everything was getting really exciting for tech.

Now we’re at a point where it’s like: “OK. Innovation for the sake of innovation…is it really going to save the planet or do we need to change our consumerism model to become more sustainable?”

It’s a very good question and, actually, brings us nicely to your prediction. You believe that, “in 2050, the majority of consumer products will be circular.” Of course, for that to happen, there needs to be demand for circular products. What does that demand currently look like?

At Canopey, instead of talking about ‘sustainable’ products or ‘eco-friendly’ products, we talk about ‘better’ products. Products that have less environmental impact and are also made from better materials, last longer and have a better social impact.  

Demand for ethical products, like the ones from our sellers, has grown 1,000% over the last 20 years – faster than the average household spend has grown – and we’re continuing to see it.

That’s incredible to hear. Presumably many of the ‘better’/ethical products you stock will be circular. Do you have any thoughts on how we can further increase demand for such products?

If we’re going to have a quantifiable, global impact on circularity, I think we’ve always got to consider the mainstream consumer, rather than just a small niche. Their consumption habits have a huge ability to drive change. 

But, as much as we might think that the climate is the most important thing – and in many ways, it is – for a lot of people, there are higher priorities on their list. We shouldn't criticise people for that. 

Something that we really preach at Canopey is that we can’t expect people to change overnight, particularly those who aren’t ‘eco-warriors’ or climate scientists. If we do, we’re hindering our own progress in tackling the climate crisis.

Instead, we need to incentivise consumers to adopt a more circular lifestyle incrementally and to make changes within their existing lifestyle. Going from A to B to C (and so on), rather than A to Z overnight. Billions of people making incremental changes would have a huge impact. 

That being the case, how can we encourage people to swap out the products they currently use for ‘better’ products?

I think we need to consider the three main barriers that consumers face:

1. Price – people need to be able to afford them.
2. Knowledge – people need to know that those products are out there, where they can buy them and who they can trust.
3. Convenience – they need to be able to find all of those products in one place.

Without considering all of those points together, you limit the impact you can have.

But I do think the last point is really the most important. If consumers don’t have convenience, it doesn't really matter how much knowledge they have. Life gets in the way and I think consumers will always adopt what’s most convenient to them, even if that’s not necessarily what’s best for the planet. 

Finally, you mentioned price as one of those barriers. Do you think the price of 'better' products will come down over time?

I do. I think, as the scales flip to ethical consumerism, prices will come down, simply because people are demanding more and economies of scale will take effect.

There’s also great innovation coming, in terms of materials, logistics, infrastructure and the way we consume and source energy. I’m a big believer that, if we continue down that path, prices will drastically decrease. 

That’s the way the world is driven. Companies are driven to make things more affordable and therefore more acquirable for customers.

The big question is: how quickly can they do it?

That's a very big question! Thomas, it’s been a pleasure to chat. I think you've raised some really interesting points. Thanks again for your time.

Readers – it’s now over to you. If you have any thoughts on how we can increase consumer adoption of circular products, please do share them in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you!