There is an ever-increasing need for pioneering methods to reduce, reuse and recycle the products and materials around us. Innovative companies can help lead the way towards a circular economy (aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of existing resources), and a few seem to hold the key to a more sustainable future. To recognize these advanced solutions, the World Economic Forum and the Forum of Young Global Leaders, alongside their partners, have identified and awarded 11 companies, each active in this field. These companies represent the different sectors where waste management has often failed immeasurably. Whether by measuring food waste and studying the best ways to make reductions or by turning the carbon in non-recyclable trash into gas that can then be used to produce biofuels, these companies’ innovations indicate a movement towards a circular economy.

Amongst the 11 recognized companies, based in countries such as Chile, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, and Taiwan, is the Dutch company DyeCoo, which invented a technique for coloring textiles without water or chemicals, other than factual dyes. The coloring technique uses pressurized “supercritical” CO2 to help the absorption of the color into materials. It subsequently vaporizes, to be recycled and reused. The company has partnered up with IKEA, Nike, and Adidas, who currently all use their technology. Further information on each of the 11 recipient companies can be found here.