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.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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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
Put the stages of dealing with a product at the end of its life into order.
- The product reaches the end of its useful life
- It is taken apart into separate parts
- The different materials are sorted
- Materials are reused or recycled where possible
- Only what is left over is sent to disposal
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 _____.
The wider cost of a product
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Fair trade gives producers in developing countries a fair, guaranteed price.
- Design for disassembly makes a product easier to recycle at the end of its life.
- Carbon offsetting means ignoring a product's emissions.
- Reduce means buying as many new products as possible.
- Inclusive design ignores the needs of different groups.
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
Choose the responsible design decision in each case.
- A designer wants their product to be recycled easily at the end of its life. What should they design in?
- A company wants to pay cocoa farmers in developing countries fairly. What should it look for in its ingredients?
- A team wants to cut a product's environmental impact the most. Which of the six Rs should they try first?
Lighten the footprint
Explain how a designer could reduce the environmental and social impact of a product. Refer to materials, the six Rs, and fair treatment of the people who make it.
- Explain one way to reduce the product's environmental impact
- Explain how the six Rs could be applied to the product
- Explain how design for disassembly helps at end of life
- Explain how fair trade supports the people who make it