What are some ways to create accessible circular economy products?

In the quest for sustainable solutions, let's champion a Circular Economy that leaves no one behind. "Design for Diversity" is the key to creating accessible products that cater to a wide range of needs. By incorporating inclusive design principles, we ensure that every user, regardless of ability or background, can benefit. From considering diverse material choices to accommodating various usage scenarios, let's craft products that reflect the richness of our global community. Together, we pave the way for a circular future that truly encompasses everyone.

Disabled people are excluded by circular solutions, despite 97% of them is concerned about their impact. Medical is, for instance, the major field where accessibility and environmental effort are both needed, but the options available are mostly disposable and one-time use.

My small business of urban gardening is geared towards providing unique and individual garden designs that provide my costumers/communities the ability to grow some or all of the food they need, no matter their abilities or the amount of space and materials they have access to. This includes indoor and outdoor garden designs. I feel urban gardening is a great way to provide for the world's diversive communities as well as improve many people's lives and communities especially those with special needs

Resiliency in products can be achieved by carefully designing the most vulnerable parts of the product to be easily repaired with standard tools and spare parts. This can be achieved by creating disassembly maps and identifying which element will fail at the soonest so that they can be designed to be removed easily without having to open the entire assembly to repair. Additionally, paying attention to the junction design with regular screwing mechanism, push or spring action makes the process of repairing easier than having glued junctions or complex fixing.

Actually the products available a few years ago were serviceable, their parts were available and obviously so were good service centres. Recently the culture of obsolescence has creeped in and it’s frustrating how things can’t be repaired due to unavailability of parts, service centres and basically the ethos of ‘use and throw’ ingrained in our new economic environment. Products come with built-in obsolescence as they cannot be upgraded, repaired or their warranty expires too soon. We need to change this and consciously reject such products.

Maximising the usable lifetime of a product is one of the most effective ways to reduced its overall environmental impact and to build a loyal customer base. It's worth considering however that to pursue this goal effectively it may be necessary to adjust the overall business model for your relationship with consumers. This may manifest itself with a higher product price point, or an ongoing service arrangement. As such it is likely to be necessary to challenge your consumers attitudes in order for them to appreciate the added value of a product designed to last much longer. Particularly if they are used to paying 'little and often' for existing products.

"Classic" design helps, but "Restyling" is another "R" that I like to add to the many R's that already exist. Working in design and construction, we have an expression, interior finishes (think carpet and wall coverings) don't "wear out", they "ugly out". They often become 'dated' in appearance before they reach end-of-life. If you have built in the ability to 'restyle' that product, by printing a new pattern on a fabric (or carpet) for instance, or swapping out the fabric on office panels or room dividers, you can retain the high embodied carbon 'structural' components and still satisfy what seems to be a human need for change and variety.

Consider this, the carbon reduction targets we have for 2030 (a mere 6 years away) are the most important to meet to try to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. When we purchase new products, the embodied carbon (emitted during the extraction of materials, production and transportation of that product) is already in the atmosphere. So if I were to buy an electric vehicle, which most would say was a good thing, it will take more than 6 years (based on the amount I drive) to "offset" the embodied energy of that vehicle. Wouldn't it be better to join a car share, where no new vehicles have been manufactured on my behalf, and drive a shared electric vehicle? No new embodied carbon, no car loan, and hopefully no climate disaster!

El diseño para compartir es interesante por varias razones. En primer lugar, promueve un uso más eficiente de recursos al permitir que un producto sea utilizado por múltiples personas, reduciendo así la necesidad de producir más artículos. Esto disminuye la huella ambiental y desperdicio. Además, fomenta la inclusión social al hacer que productos y servicios sean accesibles para aquellos que no podrían adquirirlos fácilmente. Esto fortalece los lazos comunitarios al promover la cooperación entre las personas. Finalmente, también puede impulsar la cooperación, contribuyendo a la construcción de comunidades más conectadas y solidarias, generando un sentido de responsabilidad compartida y promoviendo un estilo de vida más sostenible.

Missing from the description of "Design for circularity" is "Design for Disassembly". You can't recycle something at it's end of life if you can't separate it into it's base materials - at the very least separating what's compostable from what's not. Avoid adhesives and coatings, these often make what was compostable contaminated, and make it near-impossible to separate components for reuse without destroying them in the process.

It's important to think beyond the product itself here. Designing for circularity includes designing the product for long-life, maintenance, repairability, disassembly, recycling/composting... But it also requires redesigning your supply chain, your customer support services, your spare parts offering, your maintenance and repair guides, your reverse logistics, your waste streams, your reuse of product/parts/materials, your partnerships, and even your entire business model. Remember that the circular economy prioritises recirculating products/materials at their highest value level i.e. the smallest loop in the system. Consider the entire heirarchy to eliminate waste and recapture value at every opportunity.

In today's fast-paced world, sustainable design is no longer an option but a necessity. Embracing the concept of "Design for Circularity" is pivotal in creating accessible circular economy products. By prioritizing eco-friendly materials, modular components, and end-of-life considerations, designers can ensure products are easily disassembled, repaired, or recycled. This approach not only minimizes environmental impact but also fosters inclusivity, making sustainable living attainable for everyone. Let's revolutionize the way we design products, fostering a circular economy that leaves no one behind. Together, we can build a future where sustainability meets accessibility, creating a lasting impact.

Las estrategias de diseño para circularidad y ecodiseño se enfocan en maximizar la vida útil de productos y minimizar desechos y deben tenerse en cuenta en todas las fases. Abarcan la selección de materiales sostenibles, diseño para desmontaje, eficiencia en el uso de materiales y durabilidad. También implica diseño modular, minimización de residuos en la producción, ecoetiquetado informativo y análisis del ciclo de vida. Además, integrar prácticas de diseño reversibles y biodegradables facilita la reintegración en ciclos naturales tras el uso, cerrando así el ciclo de vida del producto de manera sostenible. Estas estrategias integran la sostenibilidad en todas las etapas del diseño para reducir el impacto ambiental de los productos.

Embracing a Circular Economy: Let's weave accessibility seamlessly into product design! In our journey towards sustainability, prioritizing inclusivity is key. Designing for accessibility ensures that circular economy products cater to diverse user needs, fostering a more equitable and planet-friendly future. Let's champion innovation that transcends boundaries, making sustainable solutions accessible to all. Together, we can create a circular economy that not only conserves resources but also uplifts every individual.

Consider accessibility at the beginning of the design process. This ensures that accessibility is integrated into the core of the product. Also consider frugal innovation for underserved markets and leave out frills. Wherever possible, provide modularised features which a consumer do with or without. You can also choose to cross subsidise products across markets. Conduct user research to understand the diverse needs of your audience. This includes individuals with various disabilities, such as visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. Periodically perform accessibility audits to identify any new issues that may arise with updates or changes to your product. This helps in maintaining a consistently accessible design.

Necesitamos pasar del concepto de propiedad al de servicios, necesitamos movilidad o un vehículo?, necesitamos una climatización en nuestros hogares o una caldera?.El concepto de proveedor de servicios intrínsecamente buscará la rentabilidad de su negocio y por tanto la durabilidad y reuso, porque será más económicamente ventajoso, mientras que el modelo basado en la adquisición del objeto va ligado a la obsolescencia programada para vender más. Hay que desligar el crecimiento económico del uso de recursos.

La clave para crear productos circulares es pensar en soluciones, no en productos. Para ello, resulta de gran ayuda disponer de herramientas desing thinking específicas para el modelado de negocios circulares, como el canvas biomimético, ya que además de incluir criterios de ecodiseño, nos va a orientar a identificar los clientes potenciales y sus necesidades, así como a diseñar estrategias para servitizar, recuperar los materiales a final de su vida útil e identificar nuevas vías de ingresos (renting, pago por uso...), para generar negocio mientras se desmaterializa la economía.

Embrace diversity in design to create inclusive circular economy products. Consider durability, flexibility, and sharing models to enhance accessibility. Prioritize circularity and disassembly for sustainability. Always integrate accessibility from the design outset, focusing on inclusive marketing and distribution. Remember, true innovation lies in solutions, not just products.

Las estrategias ya comentadas son clave, con foco en que la parte más importante es la "R" de "Reducir". Sin embargo, puede haber también estrategias "post" o de diseño para el impacto que se centran en crear productos con beneficios sociales y ambientales. Las empresas sociales integran prácticas de compensación, donde cada venta desencadena acciones para compensar el impacto negativo. Esto implica, por ejemplo, donar parte de las ganancias a causas benéficas, apoyar proyectos sostenibles o realizar acciones de reforestación. Estas estrategias vinculan las ventas con la responsabilidad social, generando un impacto positivo más allá del producto mismo, alineando el éxito comercial con el beneficio social y ambiental.