THE SPINACH IN THE SMOOTHIE: A PRAGMATIST’S GUIDE TO CIRCULARITY

By Karuna Scheinfeld, CEO & Co-Founder, Four Objects |  Executive Design Leader

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I recently gave two workshops to groups of enterprise executives on the subject of Circular Design Thinking and its potential for business innovation. The audience was mostly what you might expect from an expensive and exclusive group, whose corporations pay for their membership: bankers, lawyers, marketing, tech, etc…

As we went around, everyone introduced themselves and said a few words about why they were there. Some were curious, and others only showed up for the posh meal to be served afterwards. I began with a constraint: “We’re not going to talk about values today, or discuss the merits of circularity for people and the planet. Instead, we are going to approach the subject purely to assess its potential business advantages.” A sense of relief, with an undertone of surprise, rippled through the room. 

By removing the “bleeding heart” from a discussion of Circularity,  I could be more effective with this group, get them thinking about how the future will actually function and how circularity could create an advantage for new business models. What I was actually doing though, was practicing Covert Circularity.

I’ve been in too many boardrooms with distracted executives who tune out the minute I talk about “the right thing to do”, mention climate change, or the importance of this work. I was discouraged at first, frustrated, and even angry. As someone who has always been forward thinking, I’m used to an audience who doesn’t get it…yet. But I also quickly realized that this important work just wasn’t going to happen if I kept depending on typical bankers, accountants and lawyers to make the change. I’d figured out how to do the work and disguise it as best practices - risk mitigation, profit building, consumer experience, and brand loyalty. 

When I was Chief Product Officer at Roots, I transitioned the material supply chain from ~ 20% usage of recycled and organic materials to over 90% in under 2 years. I never fully convinced the C-Suite of the importance and value of taking such a strong position, but instead blended it into a Covid era strategy I implemented to reduce taxes and duties by moving supply chains. We netted out more profitably and kept those profits rising year over year.  I was delivering high quality products the customer loved, with growing margins and superior sell-through, while sneaking in sustainable fibers with the deal. By the time my CFO asked if we could be EVEN MORE profitable by eliminating organic and recycled materials and going back to the conventional ones, we’d already shifted the supply chain, released the new products, while notably marketing it all. 

In other words, it was too late.

Was this dishonest? I don’t think so, more so, I’d say this is what’s necessary to make real change. 

Figure out how to sell the advantage, while doing the work you know needs to be done along the way. Maybe not even calling too much attention to it until they’re ready to hear it, support it, and understand it. I’m not advocating omission, hiding, or misleading, but rather a focus on determining and communicating the arguments relevant to a more traditional business model - while knowingly advancing deeper values based work. Let’s call it the spinach in the smoothie.

Workshops feel like the next phase of this work. I’m creating a business deeply rooted in circularity and honestly, because I feel it’s truly meaningful work that I can uniquely offer. But to do it, the product has to be more beautiful, better made, more worth it than the average. To help others do this work, I have to make the argument for innovation, advantage and staying ahead of the inevitable curve. When asked how to do this work in an environment of apathy, or even hostility, I find myself giving advice to designers to be as covert as I: “just make the sustainable choice, no need to draw attention to it” but then code switching easily back to my passionate soapbox when the audience is ripe. 

I’m not a typically shy or quiet person. So it’s surprising even to me how often I’ve found myself quietly seeding ideas—disguised as “input cost savings” or “portfolio synergies”—when what I’m really talking about is diverting waste streams or investing across phases of a circular supply chain.

I dream of the day we can say it plainly and proudly: “We’re doing this because we care. We made the less profitable choice—on purpose.” But radicalism has never been my style. I’m a pragmatist at heart. Long ago, I realized I’d rather get it made and get it done than make a grand point.

So for now, I’ll keep wearing the disguise—building circular businesses that happen to look like successful ones. And if that’s what gets us there, I’m all in.

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