Circular economies

I came across the following Greenpeace video which paints a bleak picture of the impact of the smart phone revolution over the past 10 years or so. The constant drive to own the latest and greatest smartphone is having a huge impact on resources and the environment, and this is unsustainable. The video suggests a solution in the form of circular economies, closed production cycles, where today’s waste is recycled and reused in tomorrow’s products. Within this there are significant design challenges,  in developing products that are designed to last, are upgradable and recyclable. Requirements of end-of-life recycling, re-use and disposal need to play as important a role in the design process as in-use requirements.

https://www.facebook.com/greenpeace.international/videos/10154685683663300/

But the challenge is much greater than that, as illustrated in this second video. Parker is an aspiring designer/inventor who has undertaken the challenge of producing a better cup for Starbucks, a cup which is recyclable. After a long slog she produces a working concept only to have the cup rejected.  It’s a bit cheesy, but also highlights an unfortunate truth, designing better products is not enough. We all know that the most successful products are rarely the best products, e.g. VHS vs Betamax. For a product to be successful it needs to have so much more than a good design of the thing itself. The economic conditions have to be right and the social conditions have to be right. At the moment unsustainable products have the upper-hand in both of these, so how can designers change the balance?

https://www.facebook.com/storyofstuff/videos/10156017957830884


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3 responses to “Circular economies”

  1. admin avatar
    admin

    I think much has to do with exposure to the facts of unsustainable production or consumption, just like this video shows. I have experienced it myself. Often you are stuck in an unsustainable behaviour, and there is a tipping point at which you think enough, and you change your behaviour. Just today I bought a travel coffee mug. I had a travel water bottle for years, but the coffee cup was just a reach too far – for whatever reasons. But whenever I bought a disposable cup from a cafe I felt terribly bad (because of my raised consciousness from exposure to the fact that paper travel mugs are unsustainable – and more so their lids!).

    So what does the concept of ‘repeated exposure’ mean for a designer? I think that every design project has to be thought through from a sustainability perspective, and this needs to be communicated either in the product, service or system itself or through the campaign surrounding the design when it is launched. Sounds simple, but I don’t think that we have reached this level of integrated thinking yet.

  2. Iestyn Jowers avatar
    Iestyn Jowers

    But you are not a normal consumer. You are a conscientious consumer, mindful of the environmental impacts of your choices, and you are willing to pay a little extra or accept extra inconvenience (buying, carrying, washing a reusable cup) for the sake of doing the right thing.
    I suspect the majority of consumers are not so conscientious, and go with the option that is most convenient and/or cheapest. To convince the average consumer to do the right-thing requires more than exposure. Either the sustainable option has to be cheaper, while still being perceived to be as good an option as the un-sustainable option. Or the sustainable option has to become fashionable, so people are willing to pay more. Or legislation needs to come into play, as in the case of super-markets and plastic bags.

  3. Georgina Holden avatar
    Georgina Holden

    This book looks as if it would be very interesting and pertinent to the discussion. It is not just about resource use and waste but also questions the nature of innovation, is it innovative when products are bringing together existing technologies?https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/29/the-one-device-by-brian-merchant-review-secret-history-of-the-iphone

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