What Is Eco-design and How to Apply It to Your Products

Learn the difference between eco-design and sustainable design and how the creative industry can reduce its impact on the environment

Did you know that 80% of a product's environmental impact can be reduced at the design stage? Eco-design was conceived by experts who became aware of the consequences their products were having on the environment.

Eco-design can be defined in many ways: eco-friendly, green, sustainable, conscientious, ethical, and responsible. Tati Guimarães (@tati_guimaraes), an eco-designer of products and packaging from Brazil, believes the best definition is 'circular design.'

In which way is eco-design circular design?

Circular design is when we think about all the stages of a product's life cycle when we design it.

The creative stage of an idea already sets out how our piece will impact the environment. It's crucial that, during this stage, we consider every aspect, such as extracting and processing of material and where it’s sourced from. When coming up with an idea for a product, we can already make a difference. The goal is always to optimize natural resources.

At the production and assembly level, we must plan for lighter things that occupy less space, resulting in lower CO2 consumption. We also need to consider and prioritize production processes free from pollutants, favoring local and certified materials and producers.

It is essential to communicate all the necessary information at the consumption level: be clear about the materials used for product and packaging, and give ideas on recycling or reusing the discarded material.

Once a product fulfills its function, it becomes a residue. What can we designers suggest you do with it? What happens when you've finished with this product? Reusing, biodegrading, composting, and recycling are desirable and possible options.

Awarded designer Tati Guimarães, eco design's motto is "maximum functions with minimum resources."

Imitating the cycle of nature

According to Guimarães, who's been designing packaging and products for brands and public organizations for 20 years, the ideal life cycle of a product should match the life cycle of a living thing.

In this natural cycle, the design stage is the seed, and production is its development. After that, the distribution of a product is represented by a tree ready to flower, with flowering being its consumption. The end of a product's life is its ripening, when the plant starts to give its fruits, producing new seeds to put back in the earth.

Emotional connection

The emotional connection aspect is vital in eco-design. According to our sustainable design expert, "people are not attracted by a product simply because it is eco friendly". In her view, the use of packaging is a way to begin to establish an emotional connection.

"When people have an emotional link with the product, they will be hard-pressed to throw it out", Guimarães claims. The emotional bond is, therefore, another way to perpetuate the life of an object.

What is the difference between sustainable and eco-design?

Eco-design is a process aiming to identify the environmental impact of a product or service from the moment it is planned.

This is only one side of sustainable design. Sustainable design is more complex, and for it, the economic and social impact of a product is taken into consideration with the environmental aspect. Ecology is the foundation of its philosophy, but it is not the only necessary condition.
Sustainable design also encompasses other factors, such as human rights, local development, fair trade, and discouraging consumerism.

If you want to learn more about eco-design, sign up for Tati Guimarães's course Introduction to Ecological Packaging.

English version by @acesarato

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