current issues in design for sustainability

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a paper on circular design highlighting the irreversible costs of design: “Design decisions often lead to long-term investments that lock us into a certain model for years to come […] and we can’t unscramble an omelette.” Because, "over 70% of a product’s life-cycle costs and environmental footprint is determined during its design phase" it is fundamental that designers begin to adhere to Circular Economy principles in their practice. Circular design might offer a path for designers to lean towards more regenerative and resilient futures. While there is no perfect solution, a list of questions prompts a series of strategies to follow, outlined in a circular design 'tool kit' and 'design guide' for this necessary journey to design for the circular economy.

With the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demanding innovative solutions on a global scale to potentially halt climate change and restore biodiversity within specified timeframes, it is crucial that the fashion industry moves away from its linear ‘take, make, waste’ model to a circular one, where materials are perpetually recycled. Driven by data cited in the article and the potential to deliver textile recycling at scale, the Finnish biotechnology group Infinited Fiber Company have led a successful bid for over €6M of European Union research and innovation funding, to form a consortium to create a circular fashion industry blueprint. The funding is geared towards supporting the New Cotton Project’s consortium members, to work together across waste management, recycling, retail, manufacturing and academia to define a new circular fashion system and business model that they hope will lead to industry-wide adoption—and a significant reduction in fashion’s waste and environmental impact.



Noting the gap in practical studies related to design for a circular economy, the aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of how design practitioners interpret and implement the CE (circular economy) concept in practice (rather than in theory). Design practitioners in architecture and industrial design who follow CE strategies were interviewed using a semi-structured methodology to address the complexity of real-world scenarios. They are forced to address the lifecycle of their designs—including the design, production, use, and waste—in a simultaneous and coherent way. This requires designers "to assume a holistic and systematic approach to problem solving [...]". Participants explained that CE-related design projects require a more extensive knowledge of materials, biology, ecology, environmental impact assessments, stakeholder management and the structure of business models, and supply and value chains. They were able to overcome this by collaborating more extensively with experts in these areas. A greater need for data and data analysis was identified. The industrial design firms noted that their focus changed "from a previously object-centered design approach to a more system- and service-centered design approach, with a greater focus on how to meet the underlying demands of users and customers."