Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

On 10 and 11 February, an appointment at Base Milano with talks, presentations, testimonials, exhibitions and workshops - Circular Milan, the city that reduces, recovers, recycles

Milan, February 7 2023 – A two-day event dedicated to the experiences of circularity in fashion and design present in the city: "Circular Milan – The city that reduces, recovers, recycles", an event organized by the Municipality at Base Milano on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 February. The aim of the initiative is to give space, visibility and networking opportunities to all the organizations that operate in the fashion and design sectors in Milan according to the three key principles of reduce, recover, recycle.

Protagonist among over forty talks, presentations and testimonies but also workshops and exhibitions, not only the Milanese reality but also the international one with the participation of the Ellen McArthur Foundation - the most important and authoritative organization in the world committed to promoting the circular economy - and with foreign guests coming from both institutions and private entities, who will talk about the good circular practices carried out by European cities such as London, Amsterdam, Glasgow and Geneva with the experiences of ReLondon, Gemeente, Maco, the Resourceful cities network and the United repair center in Amsterdam .

"Cities are thriving, vibrant and innovative. To make them even more resilient and attractive, they must embrace and accompany the transition towards the circular economy and this means that administrations will have to collaborate and engage with everyone, from citizens to businesses to NGOs. This event highlights Milan's commitment to an ambitious and world-leading circular strategy. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is ready to help this splendid city achieve its goals – said Joshua Newton, researcher at the Foundation.

More than 80 entities responded to the Municipality's call, including startups, neighborhood associations, large brands and small businesses, universities, schools and academies: an exchange and a network that are fundamental, together with the involvement of citizens for their greater awareness useful for transforming production models from a circular perspective. Among them, just to name a few: Spazio Meta, a startup that deals with the circular economy in installations for art, fashion and design and aims to combat the overproduction of waste thanks to the recovery and reintegration of materials otherwise considered waste; Ecoskate, a sports association from Corvetto that makes skate decks with recycled plastic caps; Unwanted furniture, a project born from the collaboration between AMSA and the Opendot innovation laboratory to identify, experiment and document possible repair strategies for furniture and prevent it from being thrown away; Carlsberg Italia, which transformed over 2.500 kg of PET drums into street furniture; Fashion technology accelerator, an international hub for innovation in fashion that helps startups accelerate their business. And also institutes such as Naba, the largest private art academy in Italy, or the Caterina da Siena Higher Institute which during the two days of the event will present their way of giving life back to waste and unused raw materials.

"Circular Milan" is a free event open to all: an opportunity to discover how the world of design and fashion in Milan faces the challenges of sustainability and circular economy with products, prototypes and new technologies and an opportunity to also look at the experiences that have developed around the world thanks to international speakers. It is the first step in a process of involvement and useful listening to compose the Action Plan on the Circular Economy of the city which helps both public and private subjects to transform waste and urban waste into resources, with the aim of reducing the consumption of materials first and create new job and business opportunities.