Launching this week, etsaW Ventures is “The UK's first fully-circular focused venture studio”. It exists “to create, support and scale circular economic ideas that will positively change our world” and will “invest, advise and collaborate to deliver game-changing circular innovations for impact”. Its founding partners include URGE’s Sophie Thomas. More here

Billed as “the biggest climate event on Earth”, Climate Week NYC takes place from 19-25 September in New York, with 500 events across ten themes under the overall banner of Getting it Done. Catch it online here

FastCompany reviews R for Repair, a new show at the V&A (running as part of London Design Festival) which “presents real objects that people have kept and repaired. It offers a fascinating glimpse into what causes people to cherish items enough to preserve them and the creative ways designers approached the art of repair. It offers valuable insight to environmentally-conscious consumers who are embracing repair in an effort to live more sustainably.” More here

Music and sustainability collective Evolution Music has designed a 12-inch vinyl made of bioplastic using existing record pressing machinery, which features tracks by artists Beatie Wolfe and Michael Stipe, reports Dezeen. More here

The decision of Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard to transfer his family’s ownership of the business to a trust and a non-profit organisation created to ensure that all its profits are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe was perhaps the biggest climate-related news of last week. The New York Times has the definitive story on the move and what it means

The company’s statement on the change of its ownership is here

A reminder that URGE is leading a panel session at the Material Matters Fair at London’s Bargehouse on September 24 at 3pm. Running as part of London Design Festival, the Material Matters Fair “brings together over 40 world-leading brands, designers, makers and organisations to celebrate the importance of materials and their ability to shape our lives”. As part of our URGE-X content series, we are running a panel on the theme of Repair, Restore, Recycle, looking at radical new approaches to circular design and systems in fashion and textiles. Our speakers will be Ross Barry, co-founder of Reskinned, which helps people and brands ‘rehome’ unwanted clothing; Ella Doran, designer and co-founder of URGE; Professor Rebecca Earley, co-founder/director of the Centre for Circular Design, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London and Layla Sargent, founder and CEO of alterations and repairs start-up The Seam. Details and tickets here

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