Episode 68 Kresse Wesling – Elvis & Kresse – luxury products from discarded materials

I’m in conversation with one of my first circular economy heroes, Kresse Wesling, CBE. Kresse is co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms discarded materials into innovative lifestyle products. Kresse was one of the first circular economy entrepreneurs I met, when (in 2015) I heard her tell the story of how she started Elvis &  Kresse back in 2005, to rescue and transform decommissioned fire hose, from the London Fire Brigade, into bags, wallets, belts and other high-quality products. I loved it so much that I bought my husband one of the wallets for Christmas. I’d not yet dared to invite Kresse onto the podcast… so I was very impressed when Nicole Rudolf, who joined our team earlier this year, got in touch with Elvis & Kresse after researching it for one of our case studies for the Circle Lab Knowledge Hub. Thanks Nicole! We hear about the ‘why’ of Elvis & Kresse, and how the company has evolved, now collecting 12 different waste materials to transform into high-quality, durable, beautiful and engaging lifestyle products. It’s a B Corp, and donates 50% of the profits from its collections to charities related to those rescued materials. Kresse explains the company ethos, plus its belief in collaboration and why it’s important to design a system, not just a product. Podcast host Catherine Weetman is a circular economy business advisor, workshop facilitator, speaker and writer.  Her award-winning book: A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started.  Catherine founded Rethink Global in 2013, to help businesses use circular, sustainable approaches to build a better business (and a better world). Stay in touch for free insights and updates... Read on for a summary of the podcast and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention. You can subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, TuneIn, or search for "circular economy" in your favourite podcast app.  Stay in touch to get free insights and updates, direct to your inbox... Don’t forget, you can use our interactive, searchable podcast index to find episodes by sector, by region or by circular strategy. Plus, there is now a regular Circular Economy Podcast newsletter, so you get the latest episode show notes, links and transcript delivered to your inbox on Sunday morning, each fortnight. The newsletter includes a link to the episode page on our website, with an audio player. You can subscribe by clicking this link to update your preferences. Links we mention in the episode: