Opportunity Lens: Circular Economy
Circular economy is defined as an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. The process goes like so, Make->Use->Return->Reform. When designing with circularity in mind there is no waste and everything that is used to make the product can be broken down and used to create the same product. Within this economic model the company essentially leases the product to the customer and when it is no longer usable, the company collects it to give the materials new life. In this project I explored the idea of a circular economy and how this philosophy can translate to a pair of shoe insoles.
Circular vs Linear
We are currently taking part in a linear economy, meaning that instead of recycling every part of a product, it relies on the, Take->Make->Dispose, model. This model also prioritizes profits over everything else. This is an extremely flawed system because it assumes that there are infinite resources, which is obviously not the case. To exist in a linear economy, you almost have to buy materials at the lowest cost possible and sell as many as possible. This can really take a toll on the environment (due to the absolute fact that our resources are finite); we are almost at a point of irreversible damage. It is imperative that we transition away from this philosophy because soon we won’t have any resources left to consume and ultimately kill our planet, effectively ending our species. To speed up this transition toward circularity we can redesign products and systems to minimize or eliminate waste. Below is a circular flow chart detailing the process that the cork would undergo when being made into a shoe insole.
Circular Economy Applied
A great example of a circular design are these skateboarding shoe cork insoles. Cork is an extremely sustainable material and can be recycled almost indefinitely. The cork I want to utilize for the insoles is called agglomerated cork. This is basically just small cork chunks bounded together using adhesive and pressure. Because cork can be ground up, cleaned, and reused makes it the perfect material to utilize for circular design.
Philosophy Behind the Design
Now that we have explored the lens of circular design through a simple shoe sole I would like to zoom out to look at the entire picture, the philosophy behind the design. Every time I design I abide by these rough guidelines. It serves as a gentle reminder to be sustainable, not to settle for less, and to do what you believe to be right. In today's world it seems to me that some are willing to give up their vision and ethics for a price or for fear of consequence. Not very many things are worth compromising for in my eyes, Doing the right things (whatever that may be) should always be at the forefront of a designers mind. In my culture (Hawaiian) we have a word for this, Pono. Pono literally translates to doing the right thing. Be pono.
