How to create a sustainable product

Author: Tim Grant

Product sustainability is crucial for a business's success. Governments are demanding it and the average customer now expects it, however, it's proven to be more and more challenging for startups and small businesses to become 'sustainable' due to the powerful vagueness of what 'sustainability' means.

Life cycle analysis uncovers a range of counterintuitive and myth-busting facts about what sustainability is and what isn't.

Whether you're checking a new design or looking to improve an existing product, there are a few key things to keep in mind that will help you sift through the noise to successfully launch and sustain a truly environmentally positive product.

1. Review your product lifecycle

One of the mistakes product designers make is becoming fixated on a specific green attribute such as a unique material, or on disposal without accounting for the entire product’s life cycle. This includes materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal. By assessing the product’s whole life cycle, we can identify which phase has the largest environmental impact and focus on key areas for improvement. To get started, ask yourself the following questions:

· What do the supply chains look like for the input material?

· How much energy and or water does the product consume?

· Does the product have an effect on other products or systems it interacts with?

· Can the product be recycled or repurposed at the end of its life?

2. Design with the system in mind

Now that you’ve identified your pain points and you’re ready to delve into the design, it’s important to think about the product system. How do different materials contribute to the product function, and what options are available to extend the functionality/ lifetime of the product? At its end of life, what systems are available to deal with the product?

How does the customer interact with the product, its use, and its end of life? Is there a good and bad way to use the product and might this reflect on the brand?

3. Make informed choices to minimise the impact

There are lots of design guides and literature available that aim to help you design sustainable products. Therefore, it’s very natural to assume that if a product was created efficiently, using “green” materials, and is recyclable then it won’t have much of an impact on the environment.

These assumptions have created a basis for what we call ‘environmental folklore’ – a term describing environmental myths that have been built over time that people tend to rely on to make themselves feel good about their environmental choices.

However, our environmental intuition is often biased by customer demands, government regulatory drivers, and life cycle stages which people interact with. This has led to many examples where manufacturers are focusing on recyclable packaging when product performance and longevity are much more important.

Efforts to remove polymers from products often assume alternatives are benign when with are often far from reality. “Natural” materials such as wool cotton and leather can have much greater impacts on agricultural systems compared to synthetic alternatives. On-the-counter factors such as perceptions of the quality of these fibers can mean they last longer and are more valued.

So, with all of this in mind, where does a designer start?

At Lifecycles, our consultants are passionate about helping businesses big and small achieve their sustainability goals. We've designed a new training, called 'Lifecycles Lab' targeted towards product designers, business owners and entrepreneurs who are motivated to create a sustainable product and are looking for an evidence base to back it up. Running once a month, our consultants will break down the product's life cycle, identify hot spots and understand the best pathway towards verification.

For more information about Lifecycles Lab, click the link here.

-- Lifecycles Lab

Includes: -Pre-workshop consultation (approx. 60 minutes to prepare you and us for the day) - Full day of training and workshopping within the Lab, with lunch provided. - Access to dedicated LCA practitioner, software and data for the Lab Day. - Summary Report (3-5 pages) on initial findings and possible next steps from the Lab provided within 3 days.