This paper explores the move to a circular economy through the metaphor of a living system: a forest. The technosphere of a circular economy is an entirely human-made and managed realm. This research aims to explore how a common understanding of how a forest works can be used to conceptualise the products, components and materials that circulate in the technosphere as "fruit". This exploration entails four aspects of the metaphor: (1) the recipient needs to know what it is "eating", (2) the fruit needs to be "non-toxic" for the recipient, (3) the fruit needs to be nutritious and, (4) the wider system needs to be able to "metabolise 2 the nutrients". This metaphor allows for a more interconnected and holistic understanding of different economic and societal actors, their relationships and overall productivity. The nature of many materials in the technosphere prompts consideration of issues of standardisation, complexity, disclosure, and liability together with intellectual property rights. However, special attention and/or treatment is needed for materials that can be considered "substances of concern", which ideally would be designed out or carefully managed to avoid exposure. Furthermore, the paper explores the "nutritional value" of technosphere materials, emphasising the need for increased product longevity, through strategies such as design for disassembly and the right to repair. Finally, to allow the wider, open system to benefit from diverse inputs, it requires further decentralisation of supply chains, enabling accessibility of inputs to more informal or smaller-scale economic entities and fostering local creativity. To support this change, concepts related to nutrient stock maintenance and total product liability are addressed.@en

Numerous academic scholars argue for a radical transformation of the economy towards a circular model, in response to pressures from planetary and social issues such as energy, climate change, inequality, and resource depletion. This study examines how the academic community perceives the concept of a circular economy in comparison to traditional economic discourse, through the lens of conceptual metaphors. Conceptual metaphors are systematic properties that reflect one’s understanding of abstract phenomena like a circular economy. Through a structured review of the literature, seven dominant conceptual metaphors were identified that shape the understanding of traditional economics. The study also conducted a textual analysis of the ten most frequently cited academic papers on the circular economy. The analysis revealed that certain dominant metaphors from traditional economics have been influential in shaping discourse on the circular economy. The most common metaphors were the machine metaphor, competitive metaphors, the journey metaphor, and ecological metaphors. Each conceptual metaphor has its own strengths and weaknesses, which may include poorly explained areas or missing dimensions. These two aspects are referred to as misconceptions and blind spots, respectively, and the paper reflects on the implications of these for the current academic discourse on the circular economy.

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The idea of a circular economy promises radically different outcomes compared to the current, linear economy. To explore new lines of enquiry to achieve these different outcomes, metaphors can be used to allow a learner to think about a circular economy differently compared to the current economy. Conceptual metaphors are especially powerful for this purpose since they influence most abstract patterns of thought, and they have systemic properties. Therefore, this research describes an intrinsic case study about the engagement of a group of students with the metaphor of a forest during a two-day postgraduate-level course. This research addresses the question: “to what extent does the forest metaphor allow students to rethink the relationship between businesses in a circular economy?“ Through this intrinsic case study, the insights, experiences, and perspectives of the students are analysed, after they have interacted with the metaphor of a forest. @en