Most of us are aware of the waste we produce, and the fact that we are operating in a culture where we are encouraged to throw things away and replace them with new rather than fix them. Just as we can cut down on household waste once we have information on recycling, or cut our energy use once we are made aware of how to do so, so we can limit the environmental impact of the goods we buy when we have clear information about their history.
Design students were asked to look at any common household durable product and design a visual representation of its lifetime use of material resources from ‘cradle to grave’. The information had to be presented in a form that a consumer would use, such as an information leaflet, a website page, or a display on a mobile phone, in a compelling way. It’s aimed at enabling consumers to make an informed choice about their goods before they buy, or to inform retailers about a product’s environmental credentials before they order from their suppliers.