Green Design: Designing Sustainably

Environmental issues occur at all stages of the products life-cycle but for different products/packaging it happens at different stages.

"no matter where in the product life-cycle the impact lies, most of the impact is

‘locked’ into the product at the design stage when materials are selected and
product performance is largely determined"

My understanding from this abstract and figure is that the design stage is where you have to take into account these four areas...

- Design for the environment - Sustainable materials and function

- Clean Production - Reducing emissions as a result of the production on the environment
- Consumer Education - Offering recycling instructions to the consumer on what to do
- Waste management and Recycling - The actual breakdown/separation of the product/packaging at the end of its life-cycle so it can be recycled, minimising the waste.

Regardless of whether you choose to acknowledge this or not the environmental impact is 'locked-in' at this stage which means you cannot change it. An attempt to change this after is whats known as ‘end-of-pipe’ orientation / 'yesterdays thinking' which is certainly not efficient and increases waste.

"only a life-cycle design approach can lock in positive environmental features and lock out undesirable environmental impacts"

Therefore I see it as great importance that I cover these four areas in my design to fully tackle the undesirable environmental impacts packaging may have.

The three areas that need to be taken into account to achieve sustainable practice. Social which is consumer education, environmental which is Design for the environment ( material - The effects from sourcing, production and recycling this) and economic which is Waste management and Recycling - How the product/packaging life-cycle can be pro-longed in the consumption stage ( such as re-using it for another means or for the same)

Bet practices to design sustainably by Eric Benson