4.9 Case Eta 85
85
quote: “We realize that currently recycled resources are more expensive than new/
virgin resources” (see Appendix: German Quote 43).
On the other hand, the organization pays lower prices for recycled resources.One example is a certain synthetic material which is used for the production of
buckles on bags that can be used in a closed-loop production. Another is recycled
thermoplastic polyurethane which has the same quality as virgin TPU but costs
less. “Recycled TPU performs as well as traditional TPU and realizes clear cost ad-
vantages” (Annual Report, 2013).
In conclusion, the economic impact of the implementation of circular economyon the organization remains unclear. Positive as well as negative impacts have been
identified but at present it is difficult to say which outweighs the other.
4.9 Case Eta
4.9 Case Eta
4.9.1 The Company’s Circular Economy Approach
The organization has a long tradition in recycling their products and striving for a
closed-loop production system. In 1994, it started a product line which was made
from pure polyester and designed to be recycled. For that purpose, the organization
established an infrastructure to collect the products when they were at the end of
their lifecycle from customers to ensure product components could be recycled.
However, shortly after initiation, the organization faced the challenge of products
not being returned due to their longevity and a lack of awareness amongst customers
that they could return their products to be recycled. Ultimately, this in combination
with the immense effort required to keep the collection infrastructure alive led to
the termination of this initiative a few years later.
In spite of the failure of this initiative, Eta has pursued other ways to implementcircular economy. According to the circular economy framework used for the
analysis, case Eta’s approach can be classified into three business models: resource
recovery, circular supplies on process level and product life extension (see Table 13).