Yikes.<\/p>\n
Product designers and companies are in a unique place in that they directly contribute to the world\u2019s ecological footprint. They can design products and packaging<\/a> that don\u2019t end up wasting away in our landfills for years.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the key here. Sustainable product design is necessary to curb climate change.<\/p>\n One example of a design that\u2019s begging for a revamp and reintroduction is the straw. Did you know that 500 million plastic straws<\/a> are used every day in North America? And the majority of these aren\u2019t recycled or reused \u2013 instead, they end up in our oceans and landfills.<\/p>\n No matter which way you look, sustainable design is the future.<\/p>\n The Brundtland Commission<\/a> was put together to unite countries in pursuit of sustainable development. In fact, the term was coined by them, and their definition holds today.<\/p>\n \u201cSustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Sustainable design encourages a balance between all things natural and the human world. There are three components to this: environment, society, and economy, often represented in a concentric circle.<\/p>\n As you can see, society and economy rely on a healthy environment to thrive. Without a healthy planet, humans aren\u2019t able to prosper.<\/p>\n Sustainable design comes in many forms. Not only can products be designed with the environment in mind, but architectural design<\/a> can also be green. While we\u2019re now able to connect with a global network through the Internet, we\u2019ve given up our connection to nature.<\/p>\n Building sustainable products is forward-thinking. It saves the environment while saving you money. In fact, \u201cgoing green\u201d has become a marketing initiative in its own right.<\/p>\n Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned with their environmental footprints. This is translating to them endorsing companies with initiatives in place to curb pollution and greenhouse gases while patronizing the offenders.<\/p>\n A national survey done by Tiller, LLC<\/a> found that 87 percent of women and 78 percent of men were looking to \u201cgo green\u201d in 2015. Another interesting stat is that 73 percent of survey respondents believed that irresponsible companies should be patronized, while 43 percent straight-out refused to buy from companies with negative environmental policies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n So, if saving the planet isn\u2019t at the forefront of your mind, consider the positive effects that sustainable design will have on your business.<\/p>\n Conscious design can easily reduce or eliminate harmful practices. While the way to do it differs depending on the discipline \u2013 architecture, product design, urban planning, etc. \u2013 there are some core principles that you can use to guide you.<\/p>\n These are just a few guiding principles that you should keep in the back of your mind, regardless of the field you\u2019re in. They may not all apply to you but adopting the ones that do will go a long way. You might also want to consider checking out our guide on designing environmentally friendly products.<\/a><\/p>\n Below we\u2019ll look at some of these in more detail.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most simple of the principles, choosing environmentally friendly materials is where you should start. Whether you\u2019re designing a home or a new pair of shoes, there are steps you can take to ensure they\u2019re sustainable.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with what you don\u2019t want to use. An obvious culprit and the antithesis of sustainability is plastic, which ends up in our oceans and landfills.<\/p>\n A less obvious material you should avoid using in your products is polyester that isn\u2019t explicitly recycled. It\u2019s often used in clothes for its wrinkle-fighting properties and affordability.<\/p>\n But polyester is a synthetic petroleum-based fiber that is currently responsible for over 70 million barrels of oil<\/a> each year. And this fiber is the most commonly used but takes over 200 years to decompose.<\/p>\n So, what should you use instead?<\/p>\n The first thing to think about is how the material will function given its purpose. There\u2019s no use in choosing a sustainable material if it\u2019s not suited for the job. After finding materials, make sure they\u2019re:<\/p>\n Sustainable design is essential to our future. While recycling and repurposing our materials is great, reducing our energy consumption in the first place will go a long way. Product designers should focus on minimizing their product\u2019s resource consumption.<\/p>\n When manufacturing your product, consult with eco-conscious engineers to ensure your process is as energy efficient as possible. Use sustainable energy sources, like solar and wind, and consider the embodied energy of the material you choose.<\/p>\n Embodied energy is the energy used to produce, transport, and dispose of the material. Those with low embodied energy<\/a> are preferable.<\/p>\n Two other things to keep in mind to reduce your energy consumption are lightweighting and your product\u2019s lifespan.<\/p>\n Lightweighting refers to creating product\u2019s using the least amount of materials possible. This reduces the amount of energy required to manufacture the product, to source the materials, and lowers the cost of production. It\u2019s a smart choice for any designer.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s most commonly used in the production of vehicles, it\u2019s relevant here too.<\/p>\n Perhaps the best way to reduce your energy consumption is by producing a high-quality product that has a long lifespan. I mean, if your product is built to last, you won\u2019t have to manufacture as many, saving energy.<\/p>\n Nowhere is this principle more thrown aside than the fashion industry, where cheap fashions rule at the cost of the environment. In fact, it\u2019s actually a strategy for maximizing profits. But putting profit over the environment is what got us in this situation, so it\u2019s time to start designing products that last.<\/p>\n When designing your product, consider the entire lifecycle that the product will go through. Every product goes through at least four stages each with its own opportunities for saving energy. These stages are:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re working on a new product design, you\u2019re in the best position. You can optimize the lifecycle to ensure each stage uses minimal waste and less energy than others. If you\u2019re revamping your product\u2019s lifecycle, you have a bit more work to do.<\/p>\n To simplify the process, start with the stage that has the biggest effect on sustainability and work from there. Work toward the biggest change and eventually your lifecycle will be optimized for the environment.<\/p>\n Find opportunities to minimize energy expenditure and waste production. Avoid using toxic chemicals and materials with high embodied energy. Then consider what will happen after your product is thrown out \u2013 will it be recycled, biodegrade, or does it end up in a landfill?<\/p>\n When designing a new product, it\u2019s important to think about the aftermath. Ask yourself what will happen to the product when it meets its end. Hopefully, it\u2019ll be either recycled, repurposed, or biodegrade.<\/p>\n To make these processes more effective, keep disassembly in mind. If your product is made of many parts, each part could potentially be repurposed. The easier disassembly is, the more likely the parts will end up where you intend them to go.<\/p>\n What better way to succeed than to model your product design<\/a> and business off of a company that\u2019s already sustainable? This list of companies is killing it with their sustainable product design initiatives.<\/p>\n A great example of a company doing sustainability right is IKEA. The company adopted an environmental action plan in 1992, decades before climate change would come to the forefront. The action plan stated that IKEA would \u201cmaximize the impact of resources invested and reduce the energy necessary to address isolated issues.\u201d<\/p>\n IKEA was one of the first companies to ban plastic bags<\/a>, giving their customers the choice of purchasing reusable bags instead. Their restaurants use reusable plates and cutlery, and the company is focusing on renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n They focus on the product lifecycle as a whole, from idea to end of life. Their products are flat-packed, allowing more to be shipped at once. The company works with environmentally friendly forests and cotton to source their materials, and they enforce environmental standards on the suppliers they work with.<\/p>\n I could go on and on, but I\u2019ll leave you with this. On June 7, 2018, at the Democratic Design Days<\/a>, IKEA pledged to \u201cbecome people and planet positive by 2030.\u201d This means:<\/p>\n In 2010, Unilever launched their Sustainable Living Plan<\/a>, which is a blueprint for sustainable growth. The goal is to mitigate risk while increasing profits and getting sustainable products into the hands of their over 2.5 billion customers.<\/p>\n When the plan launched, CEO Paul Polman stated that he wanted double profits while cutting their environmental footprint in half, and they\u2019ve come a long with since. Over 75 percent<\/a> of the nonhazardous waste produced by the company doesn\u2019t go to landfills.<\/p>\n By 2025, Unilever aims to have 100 percent of their plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.<\/a> They\u2019ll also be using 25 percent more recyclable plastic in their products.<\/p>\n Polman stated, \u201cAs a consumer goods industry, we need to go much further, much faster, in addressing the challenge of single-use plastics by leading a transition away from the linear take-make-dispose model of consumption, to one which is truly circular by design.\u201d<\/p>\n Unilever focuses on making their packaging more sustainable. To find out how you can follow suit, check out these sustainable packaging design tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another brand that\u2019s doing good for the planet, Panasonic has hefty goals for renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions.<\/p>\n Their most recent proclamation was the formation of the Panasonic Environment Vision 2050, which formed in 2017. They aim to reduce their energy used by improving their manufacturing processes and improving the energy-saving nature of their products while creating more clean energy.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve created pure hydrogen fuel cell batteries that produce clean energy and are the way of the future. In addition to that, Panasonic\u2019s factories are becoming more energy efficient, with a number of them operating off of 100 percent clean, renewable energy.<\/p>\n To learn more about Panasonic\u2019s vision, check out this video.<\/p>\nWhat is Sustainable Design?<\/h2>\n
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![\"concentric](\"https:\/\/cdn.cadcrowd.com\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/10\/concentric-circle-1024x512.png\")
<\/p>\nWhy You Should Care<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nSustainable Product Design Principles<\/h2>\n
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Choose Materials That Have Less of an Environmental Impact<\/h3>\n
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Ensure You\u2019re Reducing Energy Consumption<\/h3>\n
![\"Concept](\"https:\/\/cdn.cadcrowd.com\/blog\/uploads\/2018\/10\/solar-energy.jpg\")
<\/p>\nConsider Your Product\u2019s Lifecycle<\/h3>\n
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Keep Disassembly in Mind<\/h3>\n
Companies Successfully Using Sustainable Design<\/h2>\n
IKEA<\/h3>\n
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Unilever<\/h3>\n
Panasonic<\/h3>\n