“Why not use ‘green materials’?”
Although use of alternative materials (e.g. corn based plastics, PLA’s etc.) is highly desired to create a sustainable product design, it is not always the right choice for a product. Use of current ‘green plastics’ can even harm the sustainability of a total product.
Consider the following: if a mobile phone’s enclosure is made of an alternative material, this would seem “sustainable”. However, if the material is not resistant to scratches and stresses (which currently all biopolymers are) the enclosure will fail prematurely. If this happens, the whole product fails and will be replaced. This requires sourcing, production, logistics, recycling and all other processes once more to provide a new handset and dispose of the “old” one.
Integrally, the choice for a “sustainable” material instead of a true durable material could do more harm than good for the environment.
Sustainable products can help the environment by helping their owners live sustainably. The product itself does not need to be.
Uit mijn ontwerp voor het vak “Duurzame productontwikkeling”. Bij deze wil ik het ontwerp vrijgeven onder een Creative Commons v3 BY-SA licentie. Iedereen die dit verder wil ontwikkelen of op de markt wil brengen, bring it on
Like this? You might be interested in my latest project. It's a desk light made completely from a single sheet of printed circuit board. Check it out:
