Circular economy

In view of the increasingly obvious climate change , the destruction of ecosystems on earth and the dramatic extinction of species , we have set ourselves the goal of tackling this global problem through innovation and research as well as cooperation with various stakeholders in the industry. The textile industry currently produces around 10% of global CO2 emissions, and this figure is rising with irreversible consequences for the climate and nature.

In contrast to us humans, who have relied on a fossil fuel industry for over 100 years and follow a linear economy and society based on the “take-make-waste” principle, in which resources are extracted, produced with them and the products disposed of as waste after use, nature does not produce a single piece of waste, but lives in cycles .

Against this background, we at OOOHnice! would like to develop ecological sustainability with the help of digital innovations with an interdisciplinary project team , paying particular attention to climate protection, resource conservation, circular strategies and ecological transparency in compliance with the 17 UN sustainability goals.

Let's start the path to a circular society together as a community here and now. As a consumer, you have it in your own hands to reduce your ecological footprint . In Germany alone, according to the Federal Environment Agency, the average CO2 footprint per capita is 10.5 tonnes . This value takes into account all consumption, including the export and import of goods. Specifically, 2.0 t of CO2 are emitted per capita for housing, 0.5 t of CO2 for electricity, 2.2 t of CO2 for mobility, 1.8 t of CO2 for food, 2.9 t of CO2 for other consumption and 1.2 t of CO2 for public infrastructure (source: Federal Environment Agency CO2 calculator from 2023). The climate target , however, is much smaller and amounts to just 1 ton of CO2 per capita .

This year, German Earth Overshoot Day 2024 falls on May 2, 2024: If everyone in the world lived and worked like we do in Germany, the budget of sustainably usable resources and ecologically manageable emissions for the entire year would be used up by that day. The overuse is so great that we in Germany alone would need three Earths if such a need for resources and emissions were to be made possible for everyone in the world. That is why we must adapt our habits and consume more consciously and less.

To achieve the United Nations IPCC target of reducing global carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 compared to 2010, Earth Overshoot Day would have to be postponed by 19 days each year for the next seven years.

The ecological footprint is a measure of how much biologically productive land and water our lifestyle and our consumption of food, energy, mobility, goods and public services use. It is measured in global hectares (gha) . The global average is 2.6 gha per person . One gha corresponds to a biologically productive area of ​​one hectare that meets the resource needs of one person. In order to live sustainably, the footprint should be below this mark. The concept was developed by the Global Footprint Network . More about this at: www.footprintnetwork.org

Since it is known how much biologically productive land and water area the earth has (about 12.2 billion hectares ) and how large the world population is (about 8.06 billion people), purely mathematically a footprint of about 1.6 gha per capita is considered sustainable.

The ecological footprint of all humanity on Earth is now so large that we have become the physical force that gives our name to a new geological epoch, the so-called Anthropocene . Through the way we do business and through our treatment of the natural environment as both a source of resources and a waste disposal site, humans have been fundamentally changing the natural processes of our ecosystem since the 20th century.

This affects:

  • The composition of the Earth’s atmosphere (keywords are “climate crisis” and “greenhouse gases”
  • The pH value and temperatures of the world’s oceans (keywords “ocean acidification” and “corral death”)
  • The composition and vitality of soils (keywords “industrial agriculture”, “chemical fertilizers”, “soil degradation”, “land sealing”)
  • The global water cycles (keywords “extreme weather”, “water shortages due to the depletion of groundwater reservoirs” and “large dams”)
  • What is most serious: through far-reaching changes in our land use and chemical pollution, we are endangering the integrity of a previously highly diverse biosphere , which also ensures our own survival on the earth's surface (keyword "6th mass extinction").

Let us therefore work together on an ecologically sustainable transformation of our economic model and transform our linear economic model into a circular economy .

*For further information visit:

Earth Overshoot Day (Germanwatch eV)

CO2 calculator (Naturefund eV)

Ecological Footprint Calculator (Global Footprint Network)

Ecological footprint data global (Global Footprint Network)

Live climate-friendly (bewusstkaufen.at)

Land Footprint (Federal Environment Agency)

*We assume no liability for the content of the links.