Design With Intent

Sustainability in Product Design
Jan 17, 2014 6:00 PM ET
Employees Checking Recycle Bales

Design With Intent: Sustainability in Product Design

Every time I go to the store to purchase a product, I’m struck by how many examples of products and packaging I see that are virtually impossible to recycle because of choices made in the design of the item. Why even last week I spent a day with a major retail’s Sr. Leadership and Buyers, walking a store reviewing the many products and packages that simply fall short. 

I’m sure we’ve all seen countless examples of the tons (literally) of valuable material lost due to products being difficult to recycle based on what they’re made of, the limitations of the recycling infrastructure or being difficult for the consumer to recycle easily. Things like packaging, toys and office supplies, for example, can all pose challenges to effective recycling, composting or disassembly based on choices made in design.

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