Task 2B - Sustainable Consumption

The rate we consume, replace and throw away products is far to excessive for a safe and sustainable world. This is driven by Companies who design electronics, who every 12 to 18 months produce a new and improved product, which makes its predecessors obsolete. This persuades consumers to purchase the product in order to stay current with trend or to have a new feature on their phone or device. Designers should be enforced to design products which are long lasting or which can be upgraded, and this can be done using high quality materials and designing products that can be upgraded using a modular design.

The idea of modular design will greatly reduce the impact of electronic waste, as only broken parts will need to be replaced, instead of the entire device ending up in landfill where a replacement is sent to the customer. It can also be said that, fixing broken electronics is not made easy and usually the cost of repair exceeds the cost of a buying a new product. Another simple actions can be taken by electronic companies such as Sony for example to have a universal charger which can charge the majority of their products, reducing resources, energy and the amount of waste ending up in landfill. They don't need to produce custom accessories that only fit one model of their range.

Designers should also be required to design with product End Of Life in mind. This takes into account the life of the product after its use and how recycling, reuse or disposal will be carried out. Material choice, material coupling and modular design are very important in producing a sustainable product and should be of high consideration by designers. Material choice, such as the use of aluminum, should be considered carefully as the embodied energy used for the extraction and production of this material is of a high level.

If the use of aluminum in the design is necessary, using recycled aluminum will greatly reduce the sustainable impact of the product as the energy used is only 10% of that of virgin aluminum. The choice to use toxic chemicals such as flame retardant, solvents and PVC in products will later be released back into the environment during use and disposal of the product, poisoning consumers and the environment.

Correct and educated material coupling is also a way to greatly reduce environmental impact as is always for the product to be disassembled at the end of its life where parts can be recycled or reused in the manufacture of other products.