Design against waste

Waste is a major issue in our culture. Perhaps one of the biggest. Definitely a side effect of our lifestyle. Waste is the ignorant byproduct of our times, meaning the etymological non-understanding of what we leave at our back.

In other words, it is a blind and egoistic short-term vision. People don’t care. Their children will live in an open-air landfill. Not their business.

However, the problem is real, devastating, and we cannot hide 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 thoughtful items in every single field and category – fashion, furniture, technology, etc.
Products made with eco, recycled materials. That will have multiple lives and eventually enter a circular pattern.
Items made to last.

By the way, it was so in the past in terms of lifetime. Now the life of a garment is just a couple of washings, the life of a cell phone, less than one year.
Moreover, the convenience culture played a huge role in maximizing waste habits and proliferating throwaway tendencies. Buying a new item is cheaper than repairing it. So throw it away and buy another one – even if it will last just a few months. The never-ending cycle has been triggered.

The point is that real designers make good designs.
Since fashion – like any other industry – is in the hands of people who are more attracted to marketing than design, it will be hard to see a change coming from the inside.

Unless a new generation of designers, aware of the problem and touched by it, will be willing to change for the better.
We are optimistic!