Introduction
What if sustainable design wasn’t just “better” for the planet, but better full stop? This was the underlying provocation at yesterday’s Polestar x Business Insider: Space Talk – a one-of-a-kind gathering here, in Amsterdam, at Polestar’s showroom, bringing together maverick designers, circular economy pioneers, and materials visionaries from across industrial design, fashion, mobility, and architecture.
In a world flooded with climate anxiety and commercial inertia, Space Talk offered a rare dose of optimism; a reminder that style, impact, and imagination aren’t at odds, but deeply interconnected. From seaweed-based couture and second-life sneakers to radically transparent electric vehicles, the message was clear: bold ideas aren’t the exception but the new baseline. After all, what choice do we have?
The event invited attendees to ask a powerful question: What might tomorrow look like if we dare to think differently today?
Let’s dive into the headline stories and takeaways…
🌊 Florian Dirkse – From Open Ocean to Circular Action
Founder of The Great Bubble Barrier | Co-Founder of The Ocean Cleanup
For Florian Dirkse, sustainability started not in a lab or a boardroom, but in the vast silence of the open sea. After fulfilling a dream to sail across the ocean, Florian came face-to-face with a jarring truth: 66% of our oceans are impacted by human waste, especially plastic.
This moment catalysed two of the most impactful ocean initiatives in Europe:
The Ocean Cleanup, co-founded with then-teenager Boyan Slat, which scaled from a $90K crowdfunding campaign to a global marine waste removal mission.
The Great Bubble Barrier, a system that diverts plastic pollution in rivers using a diagonal stream of air bubbles, proving that playful, nature-inspired ideas can have serious impact.
🧠 Key Takeaway
For Florian, the next generation is inherently wired for sustainability – “Young people see it as normal now.” His call is to support this mindset shift with better infrastructure, stories and education that turn awareness into lasting systems change.
🌱 dotunusual – Designers of the Unusual: Algae, Mycelium & Material Futures
Maartje Dros & Eric Klarenbeek | Founders, dotunusual
Maartje and Eric are on a mission to redesign the world – literally. Their studio, dotunusual, transforms overlooked organisms like seaweed, fungi, and algae into high-performance biomaterials that blur the boundaries between science, fashion, design and architecture.
Noteworthy projects include:
Couture collaboration with Iris van Herpen, using 3D-printed algae polymers to create wearable sculptures.
Public infrastructure like biodegradable wall tiles, acoustic panels, and theatre sets made from mycelium – all compostable and sourced locally.
Seaweed supply chains, reimagining the role of the “sea farmer” to support regenerative marine economies in the Netherlands.
Their ethos is clear: materials should have identity, origin, and a regenerative story, not anonymity. Like wine terroir, future textiles will be tied to place, people and purpose.
🧠 Key Takeaway:
Their work reframes biomaterials not as substitutes, but as upgrades; materials that sequester carbon, tell stories, and inspire new aesthetics. “We’re not just growing materials; we’re growing futures.”
👟 Lorenzo van Galen – Circular Sneakers & the Fight for Fair Footwear
Lorenzo’s journey started with a simple act: cleaning old sneakers in a Rotterdam pop-up. That modest experiment has since grown into WEAR, one of the Netherlands’ leading platforms for refurbished sneakers, and Reflawn, a circular strategy agency helping brands embed sustainability at the core.
Key milestones:
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Collected and refurbished over 55,000 sneakers across the Netherlands.
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Partnered with major players like de Bijenkorf and Sellpy (H&M Group) to run buy-back, repair, and resale activations.
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Launched the “Bring It Back” workshop series to educate the general public on sneaker design, disassembly, and environmental impact.
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Advocates for Product Passports and VAT reform, noting that circular businesses are unfairly taxed multiple times across the loop, preventing mass adoption.
🧠 Key Takeaway:
“We’re not just selling sneakers – we’re shifting mindsets about value, waste, and what ‘new’ really means.” For Lorenzo, storytelling, regulation, and financial tools must work together to make circularity viable, not just virtuous.
📢 Coming soon: I had the pleasure of meeting Lorenzo and Pim last year at Footwearise 2024. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Seamless interview where we’ll dive deeper into their mission, mindset and what’s next for circular footwear.
⚡ Fredrika Klarén – Polestar’s Moonshot for the Net Carbon Car
Head of Sustainability, Polestar | Former Head of Sustainability, Kappahl
Fredrika closed the event with a rallying cry from the mobility sector: Zero is not optional. As the force behind Polestar’s moonshot goal – to create a truly climate-neutral car by 2030 – she’s navigating complex supply chains, material traceability, and lifecycle impact.
Her strategy includes:
Blockchain-backed traceability for high-risk materials like cobalt, lithium, and graphite.
Redefining luxury with recycled and bio-based materials that don’t compromise on performance or design.
Polestar 0 — an open-source collaboration with over 30 partners (from metals to software) to co-create every component of a truly zero-emissions vehicle.
🧠 Key Takeaway:
“It’s not about waiting until 2030. It’s about what we do today. The surface under the curve matters.” Fredrika reminds us that speed, and not just intent, defines sustainability leadership.
✨ Final Thoughts – Systems, Stories & the Power of Possibility
The throughline of Space Talk wasn’t just sustainability, but audacity – a willingness to break systems open, reframe problems as invitations, and place imagination at the centre of design strategy.
Across all speakers, a few shared convictions emerged:
Storytelling is infrastructure. Whether it’s a sneaker repair or a speculative seaweed tile, the narrative is what activates cultural change.
Design is systems thinking. These innovators aren’t just building products; they’re reprogramming how we source, make, use, and relate to things.
Circularity needs allies. From policy to pricing, circular entrepreneurs need structural support to compete, not just applause.
👣 Call to Action: For Seamless Readers
If you’re a designer, founder, or team shaping the future of fashion, here are your next steps:
Experiment without apology. Dream big. Get weird. Rethink the brief.
Build your circular infrastructure. Think beyond the garment – what’s your take-back model, your materials passport, your customer repair culture?
Connect with your community. Join the workshops, follow these leaders and use your platform to shift the narrative.
