How product design could be the key to advancing circularity
Can design thinking help businesses transition to a circular economy? Serena Bonomi, Senior Manager in our Circularity team, shares how Zalando is innovating in the unexplored problem space of circularity, and what role Product Designers can play.
Sustainability may be the antidote to many of the fashion industry’s ailments, but it is not a cure-all. Designing and manufacturing a product with better materials and reduced social and environmental impact is a great first step, but what happens next? “Spoiler alert: that’s where circular economy comes in,” Serena Bonomi quips. “Whereas sustainability mainly looks after the first stage of a product’s linear existence, circularity cares for its entire life cycle — from design and manufacture, to use, to re-use, to closing the loop with recycling or biological disposal.”
As a Senior Manager in our Circularity team, Serena is cultivating change in the industry by working to influence our brand partners and customers on the topic. Moreover, she is harnessing strategic design methodologies to support the circular business models, concepts, and services Zalando is currently investing in. “Part of my role is bringing customer-centricity to what is still predominantly an industry problem. I collaborate closely with Zalando’s Voice of Customers and Digital Experience teams to ensure we are creating circular services that enhance the customer experience.”
Serena believes the customer-centricity and holistic thinking that come naturally to Product Designers make them perfectly equipped to innovate in this widely unexplored problem space. “Many connections need to be made between different stages of the product life cycle and players in the industry. Systemic and holistic thinking helps bring all of this together. Using design methodology, we can start breaking down the complex problems arising from sustainability and circularity into more manageable opportunities. Designers are brilliant collaborators and can foster cross-pollination of ideas between teams and disciplines. Crucially, design enables communication and education so that we can engage the customer on a topic that is not their core demand right now.”
Circularity at Zalando
Zalando established its Circularity team in early 2021 as a sub-team of our central Sustainability team. “Our biggest accomplishment has been building a holistic circularity strategy in an ambiguous and ever-changing landscape, and bringing to life the DVFS model by looking at the desirability, viability, feasibility and sustainability of our business. That sets us apart from many players in the industry. As a retailer and a tech company, we can explore a wider breadth of opportunities than standalone brands. We can create a range of business models and conceive new steps in the customer life cycle. With tens of millions of international customers, we are in the position to initiate a mindset shift. What we’re building with the customer is no longer a transaction. It’s a relationship based on trust and transparency. We can effect change with the products, systems or services we create, the communication we release, or the customer’s experience on our website.”
All of this potential makes circularity an exciting space for Product Designers. While there is still so much to learn, and many barriers in terms of available technologies, there is a lot of room for creativity. “Often, the more we know in design, the less freedom we have to experiment because there are many biases influencing our choices. What I love about the circular economy is that it’s at the very beginning of the knowledge scale, so there’s a lot of design freedom.”
Charting the circular economy
Honing in on the different stages of the product life cycle, Serena and the team have already made significant steps towards their vision of a fully circular economy at Zalando. To influence the Design & Manufacture stage, they have co-developed Circular Design Criteria to roll out to our brand partners, as well as training our Private Labels team for circular design. They have also worked with Zalando’s private label ZIGN on two well-received “redeZIGN for circularity” collections.
“I have talked with my grandmother about how circularity often means returning to some of the behaviors of her pre- fast fashion generation.”
Zalando’s Care & Repair pilot program is one way the Circularity team is addressing the Use and Re-Use stages. “This is a range of services we offer to the customer so that they can extend the wear of the garments they love with adjustments or repairs. I have talked with my grandmother about how circularity often means returning to some of the behaviors of her pre- fast fashion generation. Services like Care & Repair are a way to bring this mindset to modern customers who might not have the time or skills to do these types of fixes themselves. So far, we have seen a positive uptake, and we are working on identifying opportunities to integrate it into the customer journey.”
Finally, at the Closing the Loop stage, the team is investigating ways to support infrastructure for recycling textiles in the European Union, and has been investing and actively collaborating with innovators. “In these early stages, we still have much to learn and research on our journey to innovate every part of the product life cycle. We are working on several initiatives yet to be released, and there is still so much we can achieve.”
A lens for change
If design is one of the keys to unlocking the circular economy, what can designers do to help businesses make the transition? “The circular economy will soon move from a nice-to-have to a must-have for businesses. A lot of regulations will be introduced over the next few years. That’s sparking fresh energy in the industry and accelerating the transformation. Designers can induce change from the bottom up by approaching their work with a new lens. We can ask: How do we want to foster behavioral change in the customer? How can we ensure that we inform the customer as transparently as possible with the limited information available on circularity today? How can we bring them on this sustainability journey through the experience we create for them? Let’s be conscious and curious. My team is always happy when our colleagues reach out to learn how they can integrate sustainability into their products and processes. We need more sustainability and circularity enthusiasts to foster further innovation and adoption across the business!”
What is Serena’s advice for Product Designers interested in working in circularity? Education is paramount. “It’s a huge and challenging space in which to maximize your skill set. Whenever you tackle one small aspect, a hundred other dependencies pop up from it. To find your feet, you should start by understanding the complexity of the circular economy and its holistic setup. Look at why we aren’t living in a circular economy right now and what it will take for us to get there. We designers often want to get going on projects, but it’s important to lay the groundwork with strong research and strategy. There is no blueprint and a lot of trial and error, but if you are dedicated enough, you can make a big difference.”
How are other design teams at Zalando making a difference through innovation? Next, learn how Size & Fit is harnessing cutting-edge technology to improve the customer experience and lower CO2 emissions.
