Circular Design Examples – Furniture design 6 circular design strategies to follow when designing furniture Designers should keep the circular economy in mind when designing, writes mebl | from New York changing furniture.

In collaboration with Milan-based circular consulting firm SOMA, New York-based mebl | Transforming Furniture describes 6 circular design strategies for designing furniture.

Circular Design Examples

Climate change and socioeconomic inequality confirm that our economic system and culture do not benefit the environment, people or businesses.

The Circular Rs

How can we turn this into a new system in which we dispose of waste, renew nature and continue to use resources?

In practice, this economic system combats climate change and biodiversity loss while meeting social and economic needs.

At the heart of the circular economy is design – a tool that can reuse everything from houses to furniture.

The design process involves various decisions that determine how something is made, used and ultimately disposed of.

Circular Examples Hi-res Stock Photography And Images

In this article, we present six circular design strategies for furniture designers who want to work with the circular economy.

These strategies complement each other and take into account not only the needs of the end users but also the system in which the design will occur.

To understand what this means, we must remember that our economic system consists of two cycles: a technical and a biological one.

The answer to the question of waste disposal, reviving nature and conserving resources lies in the circular economy. Here: Modular sofa components for costumes – © Courtesy of Magis

Circular Strategies As A (new) Mindset

And engineered materials that can’t return to the environment – think metals, plastics and synthetic chemicals. But engineering materials can be reused.

Design for a “closed loop” is design that aims to return materials and components to the biological or technical cycle.

The closed-loop design principle is the basis for the next five circular design strategies below.

Often customers only need access to the product for a short period of time – the ability to use it. They can then return the product to the company or give it to a new user.

Antonio Grasso On X: “adopting A Circular Economy Extends Beyond Business Plans, Urging Sustainable Actions. With Our Bold Commitments And Proactive Actions From Leaders Like Panasonic, We Advance Towards A Sustainable Future.

New companies offer products either through rental, ordering, sharing or leasing rather than through sales. Don’t just think about Uber and Airbnb, but also furniture.

Ahrend invented “Furniture as a Service”. If the piece of furniture no longer meets the customers’ needs, Ahrend uses its parts to create new products – © courtesy of Ahrend

Brands retain ownership of the furniture and organizations/individuals only pay for the time they use the tables, chairs, cabinets and sofas.

By combining modular construction and rental service, “Furniture as a Service” extends the life cycle of products, reduces waste and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 40% per year.

Find A Circular Strategy To Fit Your Business Model

Whenever a piece of furniture no longer meets customers’ needs, Ahrend uses its parts to create new products.

In today’s linear economy, we often experience planned obsolescence, where consumers are forced into endless upgrades.

Velda sleep system: Vita Group and Veldeman Bedding offer a sleep system that allows bed and mattress recycling – © courtesy of Velda

Circular Economy Principles For Companies • Stratecta

This means that this sleeping system can be repaired at any time, which extends its lifespan and reduces the need to make new beds and mattresses.

Algae bioplastic for 3D printing by Dutch Studio Klarenbeek & Dros – © Courtesy of Dutch Studio Klarenbeek & Dros

Designers are experimenting with manufacturing based on a wide variety of materials: algae, proteins, fungi (mycelium), bacteria, food waste, etc.

New materials are proving to be the main driver of innovation in product and interior design as well as architecture.

Materials Journey Mapping

Nextatlas’ sustainable furniture trend forecast showed the growing popularity of sustainable design and the desire for more meaning rather than more “stuff”.

What happens if we focus on finding solutions to provide products or services that use the least amount of resources?

In addition to converting products into services (strategy 03), we can design products with as little physical material as possible.

Furniture as a Service from Ahrend achieves both through the combination of modular design and rental service.

Celebrating 10 Circular Design Pioneers With Secrid

The artificial intelligence chair designed by Philippe Starck for Kartell is the first designed by A.I. created chair. in collaboration with people – © with kind permission of Kartell

Designed by Patrick Jouin, the Tamu chair is fully foldable, meaning it can be packed flat, requiring less packaging, less plastic and less space.

Patrick Jouin’s Tamu chair is fully foldable, meaning it can be packed flat, requiring less packaging, less plastic and less space – © Thomas Duval

Each module can be created independently, modified, replaced, or replaced by other modules of the same or other systems.

5 Circular Economy Business Models For Competitive Advantage

First, it is much easier to repair, remanufacture and/or upgrade only a portion of the product (rather than the entire product).

In a circular economy, these components would be returned to the technical cycle (as explained above in Strategy 01).

Another advantage is that modular furniture systems are also easier to customize and adapt to the changing needs of users.

This prevents the products from becoming obsolete so quickly and ensures that they remain in use for as long as possible.

Our Journey Towards Circularity

A Lott of Space is a furniture service based on flat-pack sofas of the future that consumers can buy, rent and exchange.

When we learn that there are practical circular design strategies that allow us to make much more sustainable design decisions, we begin to realize that waste is actually a design flaw and a human invention. Welcome to the Quick Question series, where we demystify sometimes confusing topics that are often discussed but not always meaningfully explained. Do you have Q? Send your burning question to hello@ to be featured on SFF.

Whether you’re new to the sustainable fashion industry or a seasoned expert, you’ve probably heard someone in the industry make one (or both) of these claims, but what do they mean? What is circular fashion and why is it the future?

The Ultimate Guide To Circular Economy

The current fashion model operates in a linear fashion, prioritizing the mass production and consumption of clothing and footwear, which are largely made from fossil fuel-based synthetic materials and are not designed to be reused or recycled.

The constant cycle of overproduction and consumption in this linear system is driven by aggressive marketing, pervasive advertising, and the persuasive power of influencers. This creates a culture of impulse buying that lures consumers with low prices and the promise of strengthening their personal sense of identity and social acceptance. The linear model contributes significantly to the amount of textile waste by encouraging the disposal of clothing and shoes after low use or when trends change. As a result, these products often end up in landfills, incinerated or shipped to developing countries, leading to numerous environmental and social complications.

Circular Economy: Definition & Examples

In a circular economy, the goal is to keep resources in use for as long as possible, get the most value from them, and recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their useful life. This model emphasizes three key principles:

Circular fashion is an approach in the fashion industry that aims to create a closed loop, reduce waste and maximize the lifespan of clothing and textiles. It aligns with circular economy principles by rethinking how clothing is designed, manufactured, used and disposed of.

Adopting this approach means endless reuse and recycling, reducing waste, pollution and reliance on virgin raw materials. This shift offers a breakthrough solution to the fashion industry’s challenges such as climate change, pollution and waste, while promoting responsible growth that provides opportunities for innovative business models and promotes a more environmentally conscious consumer culture.

Achieving a circular system in fashion requires a holistic approach that involves multiple stakeholders, from designers and manufacturers to consumers and decision-makers. From groundbreaking developments in textile recycling to digital product passports and breakthrough bio-based materials, achieving an industry-wide circular business model is a lofty goal. Extensive innovation and significant funding are required to move the industry away from the current growth-based model.

What Is Circular Fashion? — The Sustainable Fashion Forum

Although there is no industry standard for what constitutes a circular product or an agreed definition of core criteria, we know that to enable a circular economy, products must be:

Brands also play a role in educating consumers about the value of sustainability, repairability and responsible consumption. Providing instructions on how to care for products, providing repair instructions or workshops, and ensuring easy availability of spare parts promote more sustainable consumer behavior.

Nowadays, large-scale recycling of textiles into new textiles is a major challenge. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, less than 1% of the fibers used to make clothing are recycled into new clothing. Recycled clothing is primarily made from recycled down (recycling something like that).