145 Evolena de Wilde of Faircado: your AI-powered second-hand shopping assistant

Circular Economy Podcast

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Evolena de Wilde d’Estmael is co-founder & CEO of Faircado, a Berlin-based startup that provides the first AI-powered second-hand shopping assistant in Europe. Faircado’s technology helps people find the best second-hand alternatives to what they are searching for online. Driven by the mission to reduce global waste and support the shift to a circular economy, Faircado’s goal is to help make second-hand goods the first choice for consumers.

Evolena was born in Belgium and is proud to be an impact entrepreneur, committed to the circular economy and sustainability. She was named one of the top 100 women in social enterprise in 2022 and is an EU Climate Pact Ambassador. Evolena is also the co-founder of Solidartsy, a non-profit dedicated to bridging the art world’s gender pay gap.

Faircado is available as a browser extension, working in the background to search for second-hand alternatives to whatever you’re looking to buy, and Evolena explains why they decided to start with a browser extension rather than an app or a website.

Until recently, Faircado was available only in Germany, and yet already has 100 million products integrated from 60 different partners. Evolena talks about the numbers and the partnerships, including how this works commercially and how companies like eBay are reacting.

We hear about the underlying principles for designing the technology, and how Faircado has used research into habits and behaviours to make it easy for people to adopt.

Evolena shares some of her fascinating backstory too, which blends a deep sense of purpose with making interesting and maybe unexpected choices at various forks in the road.

International speaker, author and strategic advisor, Catherine Weetman helps people discover why circular, regenerative and fair solutions are better for people, planet – and prosperity.

Catherine’s 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.

Stay in touch for free insights and updates…

Read on for more on our guest and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention.

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Links we mention in the episode:

Links for our guest:

Evolena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evolenadewilde/
Faircado Website: www.faircado.com
Faircado on X: https://x.com/Faircado
Faircado on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/faircado/
Faircado on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faircado/

Books, people and organisations we mentioned

IKEA and Globescan research https://globescan.com/2023/11/23/ikea-people-planet-consumer-insights-and-trends-2023-empowering-people-to-engage-in-more-sustainable-actions/
Margaret Mead’s work and ‘never doubt’ quote: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead

Catherine’s work:

Circular Economy Podcast on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/showcase/circular-economy-podcast/
Circular Economy Podcast website: circulareconomypodcast.com
Catherine Weetman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-weetman-9419107/
A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business – buy from any good bookseller, or direct from the publisher Kogan Page, which ships worldwide (free shipping to UK and US) https://www.koganpage.com/CircEcon2
Interactive podcast index https://www.rethinkglobal.info/circular-economy-podcast-index/
Rethink Global www.rethinkglobal.info
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Guest bio

Evolena de Wilde d’Estmael, co-founder & CEO of Faircado is a proud impact entrepreneur, committed to the circular economy and sustainability. Belgium-born Evolena was named one of the top 100 women in social enterprise in 2022 and is an EU Climate Pact Ambassador. In addition to her work at Faircado, Evolena is the co-founder of Solidartsy, a non-profit dedicated to bridging the art world’s gender pay gap.

Faircado is a Berlin-based startup that provides the first AI-powered second-hand shopping assistant in Europe. Through its technology, consumers can find the best second-hand alternatives to what they are searching for online. Driven by the mission to reduce global waste, Faircado’s goal is to shift the linear economy to a circular economy and make second-hand goods the first choice for consumers. Its browser extension is designed to provide a convenient tool which searches for second-hand goods for consumers. The Faircado extension can show customers the pre-owned alternative of the item they are shopping for online in mere seconds.

Playlist: getting started with the circular economy…

Want to know more about the what the circular economy really is, and how it can help your business? Here’s a playlist to help you get to grips with the concept, how it creates value, and the common myths (spoiler alert – it’s much more than recycling!)

#1 What is the circular economy: A quick intro to explain what the circular economy is and why it’s important. We explore how it helps create better products and services, and at the same time helps to make a better world. I break it down into my 5 circular economy components, helping you think about each part of your business.
#2 The linear economy and your risk checklist: We dig a bit deeper into the way we do business now, the linear economy, and why that’s creating problems for business, society and our living planet. Also, we’ll look at the risks that emerge from those big-picture issues, and how they might affect your organisation.
#90 Does circular mean it’s sustainable? Catherine Weetman is worried that companies are using circular economy solutions to grow their business (and their footprints).
#101 Circular is better for people, planet and profit! How three simple strategies can help you get started with circular and regenerative solutions that are better for people, planet and profit.
#120 Priorities are changing: people find life is better when we care for and share things – circular economy strategies make that better for business, too.

And here’s Catherine’s guide: What is the circular economy?

Want to dig deeper?

Why not buy Catherine’s award-winning book, A Circular Economy Handbook: How to Build a More Resilient, Competitive and Sustainable Business. This comprehensive guide uses a bottom-up, practical approach, and includes hundreds of real examples from around the world, to help you really ‘get’ the circular economy. Even better, you’ll be inspired with ideas to make your own business more competitive, resilient and sustainable.

Please let us know what you think of the podcast – and we’d love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever you find your podcasts. Or send us an email…

Podcast music

Thanks to Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow, otherwise known as the brilliant, inventive and generous folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow for allowing me to use the instrumentals from the live version of Summat’s Brewin’ as music for the podcast. You can find the whole track (inspired by the Copper Family song “Oh Good Ale”) on their album, also called Summat’s Brewin’. Or, follow them on Twitter.

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