Environmental, Social and Economic Challenges
A good designer thinks beyond the product: who it is for, how it is made, and what happens when it is thrown away. Meet fair trade, carbon offsetting, the six Rs and design for disassembly.
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Design with a conscience 🌍
A good designer thinks **beyond the product**: who it is for, how it is made, and what happens when it is thrown away. This module meets a designer's **social**, **ethical** and **environmental** responsibilities: fair trade, carbon offsetting, the six Rs and design for disassembly.
The language of responsible design 🔑
Four ideas run through this module:
Two ways to design ⚖️
The same product can be designed to be thrown away, or to tread lightly on the planet.
A fair deal 🎯
What does fair trade ensure for producers in developing countries?
- A fair, guaranteed price and better working conditions
- The cheapest possible price for their goods
- No pay for their work
- A single one-off donation
Match each idea to what it means 🔗
- Fair trade
- Carbon offsetting
- Design for disassembly
- Inclusive design
- A fair, guaranteed price for producers
- Funding schemes to balance out emissions
- Making a product easy to take apart
- Meeting the needs of many different users
Spot the six Rs ✅
Select the TWO that are part of the six Rs.
- Reuse
- Repair
- Replace
- Resell
The six Rs ♻️
Instead of throwing things away, designers and users can apply the **six Rs**: **Reduce**, **Reuse**, **Recycle**, **Refuse**, **Rethink** and **Repair**. **Reduce** comes first: using less in the first place has the biggest impact of all.
A product's end of life 🪜
An interactive activity.
Balancing the carbon 🌱
How does a company carbon-offset the emissions from making a product?
- By funding schemes that remove or save an equal amount of carbon
- By making even more products
- By adding more packaging
- By ignoring the emissions
Responsible design in words 🧩
_____ trade pays producers in developing countries a fair price. Carbon _____ balances emissions by funding carbon-saving schemes. Designing a product to be taken apart at the end of its life is called design for _____. The six Rs start with _____, using less in the first place, and include reuse, recycle, refuse, rethink and _____.
Spot the true statements 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Match each R to what it means 🔀
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Repair
- Use fewer materials or less energy
- Use a product again instead of binning it
- Turn old materials into new products
- Fix a product rather than replace it
Make the responsible choice 🧭
An interactive activity.
Lighten the footprint ✍️
An interactive activity.