Exploring Circular Tech: Technology isn't magic

In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, Barry O’Kane is joined by David Watson, founder of Circular Connect and Chief Client Officer at RL People and RL Equity. David shares the story behind Circular Connect, which started as a simple newsletter in 2025 and quickly grew into a platform connecting circular economy businesses. What began as a side project became a directory and ecosystem focused on making circular activity easier to find and act on.

In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, Barry O’Kane is joined by Nancy Rhodes, CEO of Alternew, a platform embedding tailoring and repair directly into the fashion shopping experience.
Nancy’s journey into circularity started inside the fashion industry itself, after nearly two decades as a footwear designer. In her words, she realised she was “building a landfill with [her] name on it.” What followed was a shift towards sustainability, and ultimately the creation of Alternew

In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, Barry O’Kane is joined by Cathy Benwell, co-founder of A Good Thing, a UK-based nonprofit platform that connects businesses with surplus physical items to local charities that need them. Cathy shares the story behind A Good Thing, from an idea that sat dormant for over a decade to a platform launched during the first COVID lockdown. Together, they explore the realities of building a circular economy solution in the real world, including the challenges of growing a two-sided marketplace and why technology alone isn’t enough to make it work.

In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, Barry O’Kane is joined by Gerrard Fisher, co-founder of WEFT, a company helping brands understand the circularity of their products and prepare for upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. Gerrard explains how EPR works and why it’s becoming a major issue for the textile industry. Together they explore how better product data could help brands design more circular products, reduce future compliance costs, and create more effective circular systems