Climate Justice in Product Design

Luke Damiri

RC 2001

Dr. Belinda Walzer

10/1/23
 Climate change is an ever-growing concern these days, and it's only getting bigger.

Climate change is the result of many different factors such as deforestation, pollution, and

greenhouse gases. Many of these factors are the result of human creations. Many companies are

starting to realize that something needs to be done about climate change, and one of these

industries is the design industry. Inside my discipline, we see the flaws in past designs and are

aiming to change the course of climate change.

When thinking about climate justice, pollution, and waste are big factors. Pollution and

waste are flaws in design, ones that designers today try to keep to a minimum. However, it is

difficult to keep fighting climate change when there is no one way to stop it. The past design is

the result of many climate issues present today, but other issues stem from public wastefulness.

One-third of all food in the world is thrown away, which costs the global economy over 2.6

trillion dollars a year. On top of that, the fashion industry generates ten percent of greenhouse gas

emissions, just for most of the consumer's old clothes to end up in a landfill. Finding ways to

reuse these materials helps a lot, and one thing designers are trying to find is ways to accomplish

this.

The Executive Chairman of IDEO, Tim Brown, stated that “design is about shaping the

world to meet our needs”. IDEO is a global design and consulting organization that publicly

joins the fight against climate change. Tim also mentioned what needs to change is how we

design the world we live in. As a species, we can no longer design products based on desire and

profit, but rather on sustainability and equitability. This leaves the way of the new eco-friendly
world in the hands of designers to find new ways to produce products with little to no waste or

pollution. But how is this done? The answer is circular design.

Circular Design is a new method of design that benefits the environment and helps fight

climate change. An initiative from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the

previously mentioned design organization, IDEO explains the circular design process. There are

four steps in the Circular Design process, understand, define, make, and release. What do these

steps mean exactly? The first step, understanding, means getting to know the user and system.

The second step, define, simply means to put the design challenge into words. The third step,

make, is exactly what it sounds like. Make as many prototypes, ideas, and versions as possible.

The final step, release, is the time to launch the idea into the wild and sell the idea.

But how do these steps benefit the Earth and fight climate change? Well, there is not one

way to design products that create no waste and/or pollution. Nevertheless, the Circular Design

process incorporates the ideas of the Circular Economy into the design process. The Circular

Economy is a model of production and consumption. This model uses approaches such as reuse,

sharing, remanufacturing, and recycling. By using Circular Design, products are being made that

can be easily repaired, remanufactured, or reused. Products that can be reused cut back on waste,

and products that can be repaired not only cut back on waste but also take away the need to buy a

new product in its place.

 In the last fifty years, product design companies have implemented significant changes to

minimize the impact on our planet, and we are still finding new ways to keep improving. One

way to improve is to start with the designers. Across seven countries, twenty-five product

designers from each country were surveyed concerning their work. Only about half of the

designers think about the impact of their work on the environment. Also, only three designers

reported that their companies have policies in place for sustainability in design. If more

companies have sustainability and resilience policies in design, we could make a major dent in

the climate crisis.

The future of product design has the potential to save the planet. Still, it is up to the

companies, and designers, to find new ways of design that minimize waste and pollution. Putting

policies in place that limit the effect on the environment is a great start, and influences climate

justice. New design processes can lead to climate-saving products, and from there, the possibility

is endless. In conclusion, designers envision the future and create products that in the end create

the future. Designers not only have the power and ability to fight climate change but to create

change.
 Citations

Works Cited

“Design and the Circular Economy.” Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org,

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/design-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive#:~:text=The%

20next%20big%20thing%20in. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

Donaldson, Krista. “Resilient Product Design Principles to Address Climate Change.” Medium,

25 Aug. 2019,

uxdesign.cc/product-design-principles-to-address-climate-change-8bb6e839f80d.

Magyar, Judith. “SAP BrandVoice: How Designers Can Help Halt Global Warming.” Forbes,

www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2020/09/30/how-designers-can-help-halt-global-warming/?sh=

7f9348a74d73. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

World Bank. “World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.”

Climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org, 2021,

climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/overview.