How can the company use the design to manufacture their products more sustainable?

Green industry and sustainability are two of most important directions in next economy. Companies can analyze life cycle of their products and try to reuse the waste to cut the costs. (I deeply believe that business men will care about our environment if what they did will benefit their business first….haa). As a result, the materials is very important. Companies can decide to use the materials with cheapest price or the materials more friendly to our environment. Besides the characteristic of materials, the design of products is also important. Excellent design not only can reduce the amount of materials using on the products but also can induce the opportunities that the materials can be reused by taking advantage of the feature of structure in the products.

For example, how does the biggest sport manufacturer, Nike, design their products and also take responsibility of their social duty? Nike sells about 225 million pairs of shoes a year. Since 2007, they have reduced nearly 15% emissions produced by our factories. They made a decision to focus on managing actual reductions. The commitments and investments toward:
-Eliminating toxics across the supply chain
-Driving sustainability through innovation
-Collaborating to accelerate industry change

The thoughts about sustainability start with design, considering new materials and approaches that may help design out unnecessary waste, chemicals, and energy.

“Nike Considered” is one of programs. To be qualified as CONSIDERED, the products must maintain 4 points:
-Must be made from recyclable materials. (i.e., 100% recyclable plastics or veg-tanned leathers.)
--Zero Toxins. Zero chemical adhesives. (no glue.)
---Using mechanics and engineering to put the shoe together instead of chemical solutions.
----Closed Loop Technology. (the shoe must be able to come back 100% as another shoe or something else. Nothing goes to waste.)

The design innovation can be seen in products like the "Considered" boot in 2005. The feature of the considered boot are:

-Lacing for woven vamp: Woven material serves multiple functions, reducing many materials need. The boot's single lace was woven between the leather and stitching to secure the upper portion to the sole, eliminating adhesives and making it an easier product to recycle.

-Leather upper: ”Nested” patterning of upper materials reduces materials wasted in cutting process and simpler design makes for fewer production steps, including less stitching.

-Interlocking midsole : Mechanical locking design of the bottom middle unit requires less labor and energy to assemble and using molding of Phylon midsole produces less waste.

-Modular outsole: Outsole made from recycled rubber waste from our contrast factories and modular outsole uses mechanical introducing designs with no need for adhesives, making it easier to separate and recycle.

It took about 2 years to see the project become a reality. The Nike Considered Boot also earned a Gold Industrial Design Excellence and Best in Show award from the IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America).However, the sales in the market was not great. This product cost 190 dollars and only sold several months. Why?

It is obvious that customers always concern about the price, the practicability, the appearance, then finally our environment. So company has to think about how to use the recycled materials to manufacture the products and also focus on the price and the appearance now. The Air Jordan XXIII is another example. It launched in January 2008 and based on the “ Nike Considered Design”.

Our education helps us to care about others. Now company starts to care about our environment, how about the customers?

(The source of pics: Nike website)