TL;DR: Incorporate sustainability into product design as early as possible
no one boots the hardware A company with a clear goal of destroying as many planets as possible. But walking around the startup halls of CES, with a few notable exceptions, the considerations of material choice, ease of repair, ease of disassembly, and end of life are painfully overwhelming. I’ve noticed that very little has been taken into account.
It’s really embarrassing, but as someone who’s run a hardware startup, I know it’s hard to prioritize when you have limited time and resources. If you can’t make good choices, when can you literally run out of money?
To understand how to create greener hardware, we spoke with Professor Laurin Menard, who teaches the future of biodesign at the California Institute of the Arts. She is also an advisor to Women in Design SF and co-founder and creative of PROWL Studio, an Oakland, California-based consultancy on the future of design and materials focused on sustainable solutions. Also a director.
“Startups have choices. The problem is that we live in a capitalist society where many decisions are made based on time and money,” Menard explained. Startups want to think about sustainability, but they’re moving at breakneck speed and trying to get their products to market as quickly as possible. Target price must be achieved.
“You don’t have to adopt new bioplastics. Instead, you can choose existing ones. You don’t have to make everything from new materials!” Lauryn Menard
But there are some big moves in the market. Consumer demands are changing, climate pledges, circular strategies and environmental concerns are all surfacing. Determining whether there are enough customers to make purchasing decisions based on a company’s green credentials and make meaningful changes is difficult, and product development cycles can take years. and no one knows how things will change by the time a product hits the market. While taking risks may make sense for some companies, other founders are starting to think differently about how their products are made.
“Ifa startups are run only by engineers, so there is a problem: engineers tend to be anxious [about] Make sure they reach the finish line.”They’re all about making something work, and they’re probably leaning into materials, manufacturing methods, and manufacturing processes they’re already familiar with,” Menard explained. [be] Working with a design studio that specializes in more sustainable thinking and healthier materials can really help. I’m already thinking about it. Just as it can take a very long time for an MVP product to work and look the way you want it to, it can take a long time to incorporate new materials into existing manufacturing processes. “
think about sustainability
One of the major challenges we face in creating more sustainable products is the frequent replacement of plastic with another. The problem is that plastic is already deeply embedded in our workflow. Product designers love plastics because they are predictable, easy to design, and repeatable.
Also, there is no clear 1:1 replacement for plastic. Depending on the use case and material properties required, it may need to be replaced with wool, paper, wood, vegetable pulp, carbon fiber, seaweed, hemp, mycelium, artificial leather, or other materials available.
Here’s what founders and product designers can do to think more consciously about sustainability and product development.
