European circular economy companies
Vojtech Vosecky
Vojtech Vosecky works at Circular Economist, where he advises companies on circular business models. The companies below are his picks, not clients. Nobody paid to be on this list.
Most circular economy talk happens in reports. The companies on this list run it as a business. Vinted in Vilnius, Back Market in Paris and Swappie in Helsinki earn money when a product gets a second owner. Murfy in Paris, Fairphone in Amsterdam and Houdini in Stockholm keep things in use through repair. Volvo Group rebuilds truck engines in Flen, while TOMRA in Norway and Umicore in Belgium sell the machines and processes that turn used bottles, cans and batteries back into raw material.
Not every model pays yet. Swapfiets, the Dutch bike subscription, still runs at a loss and depends on its owner Pon. Circulose, the Swedish textile recycler, is restarting its plant after the Renewcell bankruptcy. We include both because subscriptions and textile-to-textile recycling are where Europe tests its hardest ideas. Dutch denim pioneer MUD Jeans did not make it: the company went bankrupt in August 2026.
Below: 12 European companies with circularity built into how they earn money, across resale, repair, subscription, reuse systems, remanufacturing and material recovery.
Vinted
Known for: Europe's biggest second-hand fashion marketplace, from Vilnius. You buy the same brands people find on Shein, Zara and H&M for a fraction of the price, from other members, with buyer protection on every order.
Available in: 20+ countries
Back Market
Known for: Marketplace for professionally refurbished phones, laptops and other tech, founded in Paris in 2014. Refurbishers sell through the platform with a warranty on every device, keeping electronics in use instead of buying new. Back Market reached break-even in 2025.
Swappie
Known for: Buys used iPhones and iPads, refurbishes them in its own factories and resells them, founded in Helsinki in 2016. Every device goes through a 52-step check and ships with a 12-month warranty, and you can sell your old iPhone back to Swappie to close the loop. Swappie had its first operationally profitable year in 2025.
Murfy
Known for: Home repair of washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, ovens and hobs, founded in Paris in 2018. Murfy offers free online self-diagnosis and sends its own technicians for a fixed fee. If a machine cannot be fixed, the fee becomes credit for a refurbished appliance from Murfy's own French workshops. France only.
Fairphone
Known for: Modular Android phones built to be repaired, designed in Amsterdam. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) has 12 replaceable parts, a five-year warranty and software support until 2033, so you replace a battery or screen yourself instead of buying a new phone.
Houdini Sportswear
Known for: Outdoor clothing from Stockholm, founded in 1993. Houdini has sold second-hand since 2011 and rented gear since 2012, and its hubs in Stockholm and Gothenburg repair, rent and recycle garments.
Swapfiets
Known for: Bike and e-bike subscription with the blue front tyre, started by Dutch students in 2014. One monthly fee covers the bike and repairs, and Swapfiets keeps ownership, so bikes are maintained and reused instead of replaced. Available in cities including Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Owned by Dutch family company Pon and still not profitable.
RECUP
Known for: Germany's biggest deposit system for reusable takeaway cups and bowls, from Munich. You pay €1 deposit for a RECUP cup or €5 for a REBOWL and return it to any partner café, bakery or restaurant, where it is washed and reused instead of thrown away. Also available in Austria.
TOMRA
Known for: Reverse vending machines behind deposit return systems, from Asker, founded in 1972. When you return bottles and cans in a supermarket, there is a good chance it goes into a TOMRA machine, and the containers go back into new bottles and cans. Also sells sensor-based sorting for recycling plants. Listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Volvo Group
Known for: Remanufactured engines, gearboxes and other parts for Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Penta, a business Volvo has run since 1945. Customers hand in the old part and get money off a remanufactured one, rebuilt at the main plant in Flen, Sweden. Separate company from Volvo Cars.
Umicore
Known for: Materials and recycling group whose plant in Hoboken, near Antwerp, recovers precious metals from electronic waste and industrial residues. Umicore also recycles lithium-ion batteries, recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper for new battery materials. Listed on Euronext Brussels.
Circulose
Known for: Pulp made from 100% discarded cotton textiles, which fibre producers turn into new fabric. Runs the Ortviken plant in Sundsvall, the world's first commercial-scale chemical textile recycling plant, restarting production in late 2026. Formerly Renewcell, owned by Swedish investor Altor since 2024.