The world doesn’t need another "sustainable” chair

Circular Office Furniture Needs a System Shift

For years, the industry has focused on designing more responsible products. Better materials. Lower emissions. Improved recyclability.

All important.

But most business models still reward selling more units, not extending the life of what already exists. Even the most durable and repairable chair often leaves use long before its technical end of life.

That is not a design failure. It is a structural one.

Circular office furniture will not scale unless it is economically attractive to keep products in circulation.

The Missing Link: Business Model Innovation

One clear theme from the discussion at Dutch Design Week was this: circular design alone cannot change the system.

If revenue depends on volume sales, circularity will always be limited.

To shift the system, we need models where:

• Keeping products in use generates recurring value
• Repair, refurbishment and redistribution are built into the economics
• Waste is designed out not only technically, but financially

This is where subscription models become critical. They align incentives. They make longevity commercially viable.

Circularity must work for the balance sheet, not against it.

Circularity Is an Ecosystem, Not a Feature

Another key insight: circular flows cannot depend on one actor alone.

Designers, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, landlords and occupiers all shape outcomes. If one link in the chain is misaligned, products fall out of circulation.

True circular office furniture requires:

• Shared data across the value chain
• Transparent material flows
• Logistics designed for reuse
• Financial models that reward durability

In short: an ecosystem where value is created collectively, not extracted individually.

From Vision to Viability

There is strong momentum across the design community to move beyond surface-level sustainability claims. The ambition is real.

But ambition must meet economics.

If circular flows are to scale, they must be profitable for everyone involved. That includes manufacturers, asset owners, operators and end users.

Circularity cannot remain a side initiative. It has to be core business.

What This Means for the Future of Furniture

At NORNORM, we built our model around a simple principle: furniture should stay in use for as long as possible.

Not as a slogan. As a system.

Our fully circular subscription model ensures that products are:

• Delivered without upfront ownership
• Maintained and repaired throughout their use phase
• Recollected and redistributed when needs change
• Continuously optimised through data

The result is adaptable workspaces with lower waste and measurable impact without compromising on design or quality.

A world where everyone is sitting on furniture that nobody owns is not a utopian idea. It is a commercially viable one.