04 / 2023

Explorations of Design for Repurposing

Susan Yang RGD, Creative Director, Padometric Studio shares examples of how designing for repurposing inspires a design strategy that creates value and innovation in a wider scope, enabling for future repurposing.

The following five inspirational examples share a focus on a changing role of design that explores new ways to turn waste into long-lasting regenerative value. Although conditions for repurposing are not fully known in advance, by exploring new materials and technologies, designers are uncovering new value creation opportunities and approaches in strategy, development, and process.

As design decisions have an impact from the beginning, by tackling the challenges of sustainability with creativity and a greater contextual awareness, this enables for future repurposing as an evolved adaptive strategy. As a process of engagement, the value of design for repurposing creates benefits for people and the environment.

Samsung

Samsung has repurposed ocean-bound plastics by creating a technology to transform discarded fishing nets, which are difficult to upcycle, into a new kind of recycled plastic - high-performance polyamide resins. The transformed material is used in their product design and development in flagship devices such as smartphones, buds, and tablets. By recovering and transforming more than 50 tons of discarded fishing nets from our oceans, repurposing for design benefits marine life and natural ecosystems, inspiring and helping planet conservation.

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Sony

Sony has developed “Original Blended Material” that evolves sustainable packaging that is paper-based instead of plastics. The durable paper material is made from short growth plants such as bamboo, sugarcane and from post-consumer recycled paper. The unique formulation can take on different shapes and purposes that has less impact on the environment than virgin plastics. With the versatile and sustainable packaging used for product design, they can be collected with other paper materials for recycling into new paper easily. In converting their packaging design into “materials for communication”, with environmental awareness, design decisions include embossing to reduce ink use across words and texts, and removal of unnecessary colouring to retain an organic look and feel.

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IKEA

IKEA is designing and developing products to support healthy and sustainable living. By choosing renewable and recyclable materials, they are transforming into a circular business with four circular loops (reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycling). The intent is to create emotional connection through design with functional sustainability. In the making of their products, the goal is for standardisation and adaptability by building in processes to develop and use regenerative resources - materials that come from more responsible, sustainable sources and recycled materials such as wood, cotton, wool, inorganic, fibres, and polyester.

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Pangaia

From design to production, Pangaia reimagines an approach that combines a vision of innovation and materials science. Lifestyle products and experiences are designed and developed by researching, creating, and using innovative and regenerative materials that focus on minimizing resource consumption, eliminating waste, and extending the life of their products. Many innovative materials are designed into their clothing such as Air Ink (air pollution particles into water-based black ink), C-Fiber (eucalyptus pulp, seaweed powder and organic cotton made into fabric), and PPRMINT (natural, plant-based peppermint oil to prevent growth of odor-causing bacteria on clothing).

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Adidas x Parley

Through a partnership between adidas and environmental organisation Parley for the Oceans, it has driven innovation helping to save our oceans by intercepting plastic waste and transforming into high performance polyester yarn. By collaborating with nature, exploring, and creating new technologies for regenerative materials, millions of pieces of plastic waste have been turned into designs for all kinds of sport performance gear such as running shoes.

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