On sustainable consumption
When was the last time your Apple earbuds lasted more than a few years? Or your suit from Zara? Think about it, do you own any electronic equipment or clothes that are more than five years old? Probably not, and this isn’t a coincidence.
A lot of what we consume today is specifically designed to have a date of expiry in the very near future. In design terms, we call this planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence, from a producer’s perspective, is designed to generate extra sales by having your loyal consumers repeatedly buy your new products. This might make it economically worthwhile for the producer, but it’s destroying our planet. The stuff we consume: food, clothes, electronics, you name it, is responsible for up to 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Our consumption is one of the main catalysts for man-made global warming. To reduce emissions we’ll have to consume less and consume more sustainably.
How can and will this happen? Can we expect people to consume less? Can we expect a global ban against planned obsolescence? Can we expect that corporations earning vast profits from their wasteful production will change their ways for the common good?
The answer to all three is probably not for the foreseeable future, and certainly not straightaway.
But as designers, we can contribute to making consumption more sustainable if we work towards designing products that break away from resource-dependence and products where the material life cycles are prolonged. Although we can’t expect people to consume less, we can expect that the next generation will demand a lot more, if they’re going to consume.
The emergence of Greta Thunberg and her fellow climate activists is the first sign we’re seeing of a generation of people who’ll demand that sustainability be integrated into everything. They’ll still be consumers, but they’ll be very particular about what they consume. The youth is showing the leadership, which is sadly lacking with present-day elected politicians. The youth is in the fast lane, and there is no reason that designers and businesses should be in the slow lane together with the politicians.
Fortunately, we’re already seeing the first inroads made into designing services that are not resource-dependent, but which are focused on re-usage. One example is the global furniture giant IKEA. They’re testing a new resale service which is focused on ensuring that consumers of IKEA furniture benefit if they make their old furniture available for resale and reuse.
We’re also seeing new brands with services tailored for re-use and optimal use of products. Kids clothes delivered and picked up as the child grows. Apps that help restaurants sell surplus food to poor students rather than throwing it away. Electric cars, that can be rented with the click of a card and so on. Re-use is also about sharing and we’re facing a future, where the need to own a product will decrease while the motivation to share and re-use will increase.
The products we want to own will be products with long life cycles. For generations, timeless design equalled good design. It is worth remembering that it still does. Visit any design museum in the world, and you’ll see that the items on display are there because of their long life cycle coupled with their function and aesthetics. A good example is the chairs designed by Danish furniture designers like Wegner, Jacobsen and company. They still retain their functional and aesthetic value after half a century. Products like these have always been in demand, and that will continue to be.
Think of this when you design, produce or consume your next product or service, Are you supporting an industry that is getting rich at the expense of the planet and future generations, or are you choosing a world of sustainable consumption?
You can find further thoughts on the future of design at Manyone.com and you can also follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and here on Medium.
