Jack and Fionn, committed to circular economy ideals
Jack Norman and Fionn McCarthy at Zirkulu in Kinsale, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan
Zirkulu. The Basque word for ‘circular’ conjures a myriad of positive adjectives: with ‘proud,’ ‘unique,’ ‘fierce, ’ and ‘resilient’ being just some. For childhood friends Jack Norman and Fionn McCarthy, their Zirkulu odyssey began in December 2020 in Kinsale, when they decided, while out for a coastal walk, to start up a business.
This they did, with their shared passion for exploration, sustainability, and design culminating in the opening of their first permanent, sustainable clothing store on Market Street in the town last September.
Sharing that their business is led by passion, Jack says that when he and Fionn had that fateful conversation, they had no idea they’d end up where they are now. “It was just a curiosity we had, to start a project. We knew the direction we wanted to go in, but we didn’t know how we’d get there.
“We wanted adventure to be the core value behind the brand. It wasn’t necessarily a passion for clothing or fashion that drove us. But they became the medium that fuelled our passion-led adventure, and that was cool.” It still is.
Today, the pair have embarked on a mission that sees them building and selling technical gear based on the principles of the circular economy and striving to chart new territory in outdoor apparel.
At the outset, what did he and Fionn see in their minds? “Adventure. That's the core value behind the brand. It wasn’t necessarily a passion for clothing or fashion.
They became the medium that fuelled the adventure.” There’s no denying the venturesome Zirkulu partners enjoy exploring the great outdoors. Before setting up Zirkulu, they took Canadian road trips and extended ski and trail trips around Europe.
“We still go on those trips, and now that we enable it through Zirkulu it’s even more exciting,” says Jack. “We have a shared passion and shared value. Zirkulu is the path we’re taking to keep enjoying that shared adventure.
While Norman enjoys the wilderness, he loves community: “That’s the aspect I’ve enjoyed the most since we opened the new store. It’s lovely having a base camp - that’s what we call the shop. It’s a reference point for people to find us.
I wondered if it was their being drenched to the skin while engaging in outdoorsy escapades around the globe that motivated these young men to reimagine the humble rain jacket. But it wasn’t. “For us, trying to recreate the rain jacket was just a really fun project,” explains Norman.
“When Zirkulu first started, the original concept was to use the principles of the circular economy to redesign that piece of clothing. It was fun to try and do that and to figure out the problems associated with rain jackets: whether they be environmental, material, or performance. It helps that in Ireland, everyone needs a rain jacket.
“Fionn and I always wanted to be hands-on with the production process. We wanted to see if we could solve a problem as we created a product. The first idea we played around with was to use discarded nylon fishing nets in the process.”
His use of the term ‘played around with’ when describing their approach to business reveals a zest and joy for what they do. One that will doubtless stand to them in the decades to come.
When their plan to clean up discarded nylon fishing nets led to their meeting a West Cork-based farmer who had an abundance of them, their hopes were high, until he told the two that he was in the business of selling them across Europe.
“We knew then that we’d never get enough nets to carry out that business plan, so we changed direction and turned our focus to bio-based super-renewable materials.” “This led to a meeting with a material science company, one that created a fabric made partially from sugar cane,” he says.
“So we went with that.” Jack and Fionn got two prototypes of the jacket made in Portugal. Then made a kick-starter video, put the campaign online and raised enough to finance their first production run. That done, they added to the range, keeping the same ethos and concept in terms of using bio-based super-renewables where they could.
“From there, one thing led to the next,” says Jack. “We've got a new jacket coming out later this year. That’ll be our first time releasing one since 2022. Again, the focus will be on biomaterials, with this one being made from castor beans.”
