Circular Design - How We Can Help to Create a More Sustainable Future

• Posted on 7 June 2021
• By Josephine Walbank
• Posted in circular, design, eco-consciousness, ecofriendly, environment, Green world, recycle, reduse, reuse, sustainable
• 0

Circular design works by aiming to cut out waste by reusing resources in an ongoing cycle. This is a remarkably bold approach to product design, and from an environmental perspective, it has incredible scope. 

Governments, businesses and individuals alike - more so than ever before, sustainability is a goal we are all working towards, and that starts with small (yet certainly impactful changes).

We love this quote from Anne Marie Bonneau, a talented zero-waste chef:

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

For us, this sums up the current situation and how we as individuals can work towards fixing it perfectly. It would be unrealistic to expect the entire world to be flawless eco-warriors. What’s more, this big expectation would probably put many people off trying to cut down because it would leave them believing that their efforts wouldn’t be good enough. 

That is certainly not the case. Even if it only seems small, doing whatever you can is always going to be a step in the right direction. 

At Mini beee, we want to help you learn more about sustainable practices and how you can adopt them into your lifestyle. 

With this in mind, in this blog post, we’ll be sharing our quick guide to circular design. 

What is circular design? 

This intuitive approach to product creation and manufacturing is brilliantly eco-conscious. 

Circular design works by aiming to cut out waste by reusing resources in an ongoing cycle. This is a remarkably bold approach to product design, and from an environmental perspective, it has incredible scope. 

Imagine if we could continuously reuse materials. Rather than simply throwing a used product into a landfill, wouldn’t it be incredible if we could take it apart and transform these elements into something new? 

It’s such an exciting time to learn about product design, as Europe’s ever-developing eco-conscious mindset necessitates a shift in how we perceive materials. 

According to the Circular Design Guide website, 

“A new mindset for business is emerging. It’s worth around a trillion dollars, will drive innovation in tomorrow’s companies, and reshape every part of our lives.”

“The scale of what we’re designing has shifted from products to companies, to economic systems.”

“Who we’re designing for has expanded from a solitary user to an intimately connected web of people, spanning the globe.”

This organisation has listed a wealth of new tools - including AI, biomimicry, and outstanding technological developments - which utilise our product designers’ full creativity and intelligence. 

How can I apply this practice at home?

A great place to start is thinking about the ‘3 Rs’ that we get taught at school.

For anyone whose memory is a little rusty, these are: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 

These serve as a reminder of the steps that you should take before throwing away an item. They are ways that you can think about giving the thing a new lease of life. As a result, they’re a simple way to apply the principles of circular design into your daily life. 

For example, think about something that almost all of us use at home - a plastic water bottle. 

Rather than throwing it in the bin, you and your child can think about the ‘3 Rs’. 

Firstly, reduce - in the future, can you reduce the number of plastic bottles that you use at home? You could invest in a reusable water bottle so that you don’t have to resort to buying single-use plastic ones when you’re on the go. 

Secondly, reuse - can you refill it and use it again? You can do this a couple of times, but you should not reuse plastic water bottles too many times, as it can make you feel poorly. 

So, if you’ve already used it a couple of times, think about how you can give it a new lease of life. You could reuse your water bottle by making a terrarium, a bird feeder, or a piggy bank. This article from Fosh Bottle is full of brilliant ideas. 

Finally, recycle - pop your water bottle in the appropriate recycling bin so that it can be remade into a new product. 

The internet is full of brilliant resources that you can use to help you on your way. For example, check out the Circular Design Toolkit made available on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website. 

The use of circular design at Mini beee

At Mini beee, we are fascinated by topics of circular design. We take immense delight in seeing how creative, eco-conscious and innovative the world’s product designers are. 

We have already adopted the ideas of circular design into our product design process. 

In our blog post, five key factors which make our production process sustainable, we spoke about how we reuse all of the different elements of our products. 

The materials that we use have been carefully considered in order to ensure that we choose recyclable and reusable options. 

Our polyether cushion filling is an excellent example of this - not only has it been recycled, but it can also be reused and given a new life as a raw material for floor coverings. 

Each of our fabrics is highly cyclical and perfectly fit with the ethos of circular design. 

We also have our innovative Mini beee return scheme. Through this, our customers have the opportunity to return their furniture to us. Then, they have the option to either have their furniture repaired and refurbished by us. This makes it good as new - so much so that they can even give their revamped piece of furniture to a loved one as a gift. 

Or, they can have the materials repurposed. We disassemble the furniture and then either reuse or recycle almost every single part of the furniture for this step. As you can see, this is a fantastic example of the principles of circular design. 

At Mini beee, taking an eco-conscious approach to product design is a massive part of what we do. By shopping with us, our customers know that they are actively protecting our beautiful planet and helping their children (as the future generation) understand the importance of this approach, too.