Inspired By Nature.

At Surplus, our design choices are guided by something bigger than fashion trends: the way nature works. In nature, waste from one process becomes food for another. Energy is reused, materials are transformed and balance is maintained. 

Work Like Nature.

That same thinking shapes the idea of a circular economy — a system where resources are kept in use for as long as possible, waste is minimized, and value is created again and again.  This isn't new thinking.   It's quite natural.

Cycle, Renew, Repair.

For us, that means working in small batches, using all the parts and celebrating beautiful mends and fixes. 

We look to the following as our guideposts:

1

Waste is a Design Flaw

In a forest, nothing is thrown away. Fallen leaves feed the soil, broken branches shelter insects, decay creates life. A circular economy works the same way — materials don’t end in the trash, they begin a new cycle.

2

Cycles Create Efficiency

Linear systems (make → use → throw away) burn through energy and resources. Cycles reuse what already exists, saving effort, time, and cost. Nature proves efficiency isn’t about speed, it’s about flow.

3

Imperfect is Kinda Perfect

A torn leaf still photosynthesizes, just like a cracked shell still protects.  We don't notice the fault. In nature, imperfection is part of its survival and beauty.  For us, this inspires our entire worldview: extending the life of what we already have — protecting the value in every fiber & resource that already went into something.  Care.  Maybe the last great luxury.

4

Balance Keeps Systems Alive

Nature thrives on balance — between predator and prey, growth and decay, use and renewal. The economy can only thrive between two boundaries: meeting human needs and planetary limits.  Full stop. This drives our thinking in small batches, real relationships, local, and quality over quantity.

5

Design for Regeneration

In nature, every cycle improves and evolves.  Soil gets richer, forests get stronger. A circular economy goes beyond “less harm.” It’s about design that gives back, regenerates, and leaves things better than we found them.  For us, a simple cotton laundry bag becomes a satchel or an upholstery scrap a mending bag.  That's progress.

6

Work to End Trash

The word “waste” should be a red flag that we are looking at things incompletely. We need to think harder. Leftovers, scraps, surplus should only be resources in transition. When we follow nature’s lead, waste becomes opportunity.

Working like nature isn’t about sacrifice — it’s about rediscovering the efficiency in natural systems. We are nature.

There's good karma there.