Circles of Care

In a global effort to address climate change and achieve a circular economy, companies have become aware of the impacts of materials in their production. Despite ongoing efforts to reduce material-related footprints, the rate of materials reused and recycled in Sweden is less than 10%, trailing behind the European average (European Environment Agency, 2025). "Every year, Swedish households throw away around 170,000 tonnes of usable furniture. This corresponds to approximately 10 million beds, sofas, tables, shelves and chairs." (RISE, 2025).

This project explores materials care as social practice, bridging the social gaps to transition towards circularity with the aim of putting more materials back in the loop. Making use of transition design, circular economy, social practice theories, and taxonomy of sustainable consumption (Lehner et al. (2019), the project demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach. The design intervention is a co-creation workshop to understand social practices of care, promoting empathy and respect for materials. This approach can be implemented by manufacturing companies, especially in the furniture sector, as well as design and sustainability practitioners, providing useful inputs for them and society at large in developing a system of care.

Lastly, actionable insights are shared with IKEA of Sweden to aim beyond sustainable production, and support sustainable consumption practices among furniture users.