As part of the 6th edition of the Circular Initiatives Awards, we are proud to have been selected by Québec Circulaire to design the lanyards for the medals presented to the winners at the ceremony held on June 9, 2026, in Montréal.
Québec Circulaire, the leading platform for Québec’s transition to the circular economy, wanted to design, for the first time, a medal created with a 100% recycled approach, reflecting its own values. The organization also collaborated with Encore! Biomatériaux for the medal, which was made from coffee grounds.
From Ribbon Scraps to Lanyards
Everything starts with ribbon scraps from a manufacturing company located in Montérégie: “Often, when no one recovers these textile surpluses, they end up in the garbage,” explains Gabrielle Huppé, co-founder of Next Chance.
With a textile upcycling approach, the company then envisioned a new use for these materials by layering two pieces of brown and beige cotton, Next Chance’s colors. The pieces were then assembled by our seamstress, Alexane, who sewed the lanyards while also adding the brand’s logo.
For Next Chance, this project concretely illustrates the strength of the circular economy when it is built on committed partnerships and a shared vision. “The key to the success of the circular economy is to work with stakeholders who recognize the value of our actions and our values,” adds Gabrielle. An approach that invites us to rethink the sourcing, design, and manufacturing of objects through a short supply chain and local production. “It shows that everything can be rethought, even down to a medal,” she emphasizes.
Two Areas of Expertise United by a Shared Vision
For the past year, Encore! Biomatériaux had been selected to design the medal using upcycled coffee grounds, but one partner was still needed for the creation of the lanyards. It was in this continuity that the collaboration with Next Chance was born, completing a project entirely rooted in the circular economy.
“We share the same values as Next Chance: we see materials that are often perceived as waste as true gold mines,” explains Alexandre Savard, co-founder of Encore! Biomatériaux.
For him, this medal represents much more than a symbolic object. It embodies a concrete approach that goes beyond words: “It shows that we talk about it, but that we also put it into practice, concretely. It encourages players in the field to multiply collaborations in biomaterials, like the one we carried out with Next Chance. That’s the circular economy,” he concludes.
This Québec Circulaire medal project is in line with the mission that guides each of Next Chance’s creations: giving a second life to residual materials by transforming them into high-value-added products.
To discover Next Chance’s products, click here.
