Innovative solutions for a sustainable future
Waste is a major issue in our culture–perhaps one of the biggest. It is undoubtedly a side effect of our lifestyle. Waste is the ignorant byproduct of our times, meaning the etymological non-understanding of what we leave behind.
In other words, it represents a blind and egoistic short-term vision. People simply don’t care. Their children will live in an open-air landfill, but that’s not their concern.
However, the problem is real, devastating, and we cannot ignore it anymore. There’s no way to sweep waste under the carpet or make it magically disappear.
Acknowledging the problem and the environmental cost it carries along, is the first step. But what is the solution?
Design is the answer.
An accurate design is at the core of solving the waste issue. Changing the way we conceive products is absolutely crucial. We need intentionally designed items in every single field and category–fashion, furniture, technology, and beyond.
Products made with eco, recycled materials taht can have multiple lives and eventually enter a circular pattern.
Items made to last. In other words, design against waste.
By the way, this was the standard in the past in terms of lifetime. Products were built to endure. Now, the life of a garment barely exceeds a couple of washes, and a mobile phone lasts less than a year.
Moreover, convenience culture played a significant role in exacerbating wasteful habits and proliferating a throwaway mentality. Buying a new item is cheaper than repairing it. So people throw things away and replace them—even if the new item lasts only a few months. And so, the never-ending cycle continues.
The point is that real designers make good designs. But fashion–like any other industry–is in the hands of people who are more attracted to marketing than design. So It’s unlikely that change will emerge from within the current system.
Unless a new generation of designers, aware of the issue and moved by it, steps forward to make a difference–to change for the better.
We remain optimistic!