Design and the Circular Economy - A very brief note

Like hundreds of design students, I was excited taking part in my very first creative projects back in school. After some experimental trials, I realized that design is not arts. Therefore, it should be an effective solution for a defined problem rather than an expression of one’s feelings and opinions. I follow that path till this very moment when it leads me to learn the Circular Economy and the Circular Design Principles for my real-world profession. As much as it clarifies my responsibilities as a designer, it urges me to share my just-learned knowledge with others to, well, “make it better place, for you and for me”.

A Circular Economy is a model of sustainable production and consumption that aims to effective use of Earth’s resources. Its friend - Circular Design Principles, is like a guide to help business and designers building their products follow the missions from the begin.

The idea of circular flow for materials and energy is not new, mentioned from 1960s in various of books and documents. In the scope of this writing, I will concentrate only in the latest definitions of the subjects in recent years (2018-2022) and how I consider applying them in my design career.

1, Circular Economy

The Circular Economy is defined as “regenerative by design”.

It is a thoughtful innovation from the traditional Linear Economy. In the linear business models, materials go on a line of “take-make-dispose” and are not considered to be reused entirely after the process. In contrast, a circular model includes a system of loops that allows products developed for a long life. The loops includes Reuse, Refurbishment, Remanufacturing and Recycling, etc.

The Circular Economy model is visually described in the graphic below:

Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development

2, The Circular Product Design Principles

Although there are companies and organizations providing guides to Circular Design that can be found easily online, I choose IKEA’s one for this note as it is recently related to my researches.

Firstly, IKEA is well known for their Democratic Design which aims to making high quality but affordable products for everyone. The Democratic principles include 5 dimensions: Function, Form, Quality, Sustainability, and Low Price.

Our story might begin in 2015, when The United Nations General Assembly (UN) launched The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European Commission adopted the first Circular Economy Action Plan. As a giant in their industry, IKEA has embraced the global missions by using them as a compass in their product design and development process. Their first attempts include upgrading their design principles using the Circular Design Loops.

IKEA describes that a circular product of theirs have the ability to go through the following four loops:

(1) Reuse: The product is designed to adapt with different living circumstance. In additional, second-hand market services are enabled.

(2) Refurbishment: The product which is used or damaged is going to be evaluated and repaired or restored to “like-new” condition, then go back to the market. That said, repairing services are available and easy for customers to approach.

(3) Remanufacturing: Usable standardized parts of an old products are used to produce new ones, which help to increase resource recovery and potentially lower the production cost.

(4) Recycling: After a product’s possibilities to go through all above loops are considered, it can be transformed into new raw materials used within internal and relative suppliers’ chains.

Source: IKEA

In the next step, IKEA assigns each of main Circular design solutions to a dimension of their Democratic Principles.

IKEA’s forms are made based on their standardized systems which not only help them enable the Remanufacturing loop but also get the customers come back to upgrade their purchased products. There are DIY projects all over the internet prove that many products form the Sweden brand are adaptable to different functions. Just like that, the dimensions of price, quality and recyclability are also thoughtfully executed.

I am personally attracted to the principle “Design for renewable or recycled materials”. Needless to say, if we do right thing – choose the right materials from the first step, there is not thing much to worry about in the next ones.

3, Vietnamese Circular Businesses

It is a relief to learn that the Circular Economy has been applied already in Viet Nam.

There are a list of Vietnamese companies pursuing the models to bring ethical products to the domestic market. The list goes on but here is seven of them for starting:

(1) Plastic People: Produces recycled plastic materials and products, based in Ho Chi Minh city.

(2) Reform Plastic: In the same major with Plastic People. Their origin is Da Nang city but they also collaborated with Thanh Tung factory in Dong Nai and other recycling manufacturers.

(3) NÜ: Concentrate on self-care biodegradable bamboo products.

(4) Tien Duc Straw: Produces wooden straws from trees grown in artificial forests, based in Ha Noi.

(5) Teo Straw: Specialize in grass straw and reed straw, based in Kien Giang.

(6) iBag: Manufacture all kinds of packaging made from tapioca starch and bio-polymer - completely biodegradable. The brand is belong to HRK Group.

(7) Grassia: Provide reusable glass bottled water, completely removing plastic from the water consumption value chain. Their first trial started in Da Nang city.

4, My approach as a designer

To be honest, at first, I felt ashamed for not having awareness about the Circular Design Principles sooner. Fortunately, I have unconsciously follow them here and there through my career.

I did go to a local sustainability-oriented company – Ecolotus, to research and design "Tròn - Xoay" a lamp collection based on their dried lotus leaves in 2018. Back then, they were a 3-year startup embracing the CEO’s desire to help Dong Thap locals make their best from their popular lotus ponds. We collaborated again when they asked me to design "Đèn lá sen" - a Mid Autumn festival gift of table lamp in 2021. Our team sent the design to Viet Nam Design Week that year and it was chosen in the first round of the competition.

At the moment, I am responsible for product design and development at Dan Lat - a Vietnamese homeware natural fiber product exporters. It gives me a chance to explore my country natural resources and traditional craftsmanship skills that I haven’t known existed years ago. I have gone through a whole process from ideas to prototypes and shooting then launching a catalogue in our 2022 Spring collection – Mindful Living.

It’s proud to use my knowledge from design school in professional circumstances knowing that it helps improve local people incomes and empowers weaving artisans while promoting environment-friendly products.

As actions are louder than words, I am drafting my focused goals in three years’ time. I should present them in another post after finishing my drafts, but it is basically based on three areas:

- Design for sustainable production

- Design with local natural and recyclable resources

- Engage in sharing my circular design or sustainable design experiences for the design community

To conclude, I hope this notes should contribute to whoever researching on Circular Economy and Design. To designers and other creative workers, may this be where you find a shared voice for our care about sustainability in the industry.

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References to explore:

1, World Business Council for Sustainable Development - CEO Guide to the Circular Economy: LINK

2, European Commision - March 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan: LINK

3, IKEA - Sustainability Strategy: LINK

4, IKEA - Circular Product Design Guide: LINK

5, United Nations - The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): LINK

6, EverGreen Labs - Ứng dụng kinh tế tuần hoàn tại Việt Nam và trên thế giới: Bài học từ các doanh nghiệp đổi mới: LINK

7, Viện Nghiên cứu & Phát triển Kinh tế Tuần hoàn (ICED) - Kinh tế Tuần hoàn: LINK

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Bong Benh Bay's Circular Design series:

1, Names of Iconic Patterns in Vietnamese Natural Fiber Weaving Techniques: LINK