Eco-friendly Practice, Waste Reduction and Sustainability
This domain tests whether the product is genuinely green: not merely made from waste, but made and disposed of responsibly.
The hierarchy
Refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose (upcycle), recycle, recover, dispose. Upcycling keeps material value highest because it needs little energy and no reprocessing. Design for repair and disassembly.
Green choices that earn marks
- Mono-material products wherever possible; mixed materials are hard to separate.
- Mechanical joints (slots, stitching, rivets) over permanent adhesive, so the piece can be repaired.
- Water-based, low-VOC paints and varnishes.
- Natural dyes - turmeric, beetroot, onion skin, tea, indigo - and flour paste or PVA instead of solvent adhesives.
- Reused packaging and biodegradable fill.
What to avoid
Thermocol, PVC, glitter and metallic film (microplastics), aerosol sprays, solvent thinners, laminating a whole product, and any e-waste containing batteries or heavy metals.
Measuring your own waste
Do a simple waste audit: weigh material in and material thrown out. Aim to use over 80 per cent of what you collect. Keep a scrap box and turn offcuts into mosaic tiles, quilling strips, beads and packing fill. Batch your washing, dry in the sun, and use hand tools where a power tool adds nothing.
Worked example
Two coaster designs: one from cut CDs, one from cardboard with a beeswax finish. Choose the cardboard. Reasoning: polycarbonate CDs are hard to recycle and shed sharp shards when cut, while the cardboard coaster can be composted at end of life - end of life counts as much as the source.
Traps
Calling a product eco-friendly because the raw material was free while finishing it with solvent enamel; decorating with glitter; mixing five materials; wasting water and detergent on low-value scrap.