We send monthly newsletters and occasional additional announcements about new events, design opportunities, and other great resources for climate designers.
Climate Designers Monthly: Circular Design
|
Hey Climate Designers, Welcome back to the next installment in our new series that focuses on different ways to look at systems change and design, following along with the perspectives in our Resource Library. Next up is circular design. The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and are kept in constant circulation. It replaces the linear take-make-waste cycle with closed-loop systems that cycle materials through strategies such as repair, reuse, and recycling. Circular design works to close these loops through innovation and systems approaches to what materials we use, how we design products, and what happens at end of life. Successful circular interventions rely not only on careful design, but supportive programs and behavioral interventions to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. This isn't always easy. More on that later. 🙂 Before digging into circular design approaches, let's refresh with a quick history on how the wasteful linear economy that is our current "normal" came to be. How we got hereNature is perfectly circular and regenerative. Nothing is wasted. Humans lived in close connection with land and natural cycles in an inherently circular way up until modern times. Goods were made with natural fibers that decomposed at end of life. Materials like metals were reused. It was incredibly time consuming to create physical goods, so they were cared for, repaired, and passed on for generations. The industrial revolution enabled the beginnings of a linear mindset, as for the first time goods were manufactured on a large enough scale to “throw away”. In the 1920’s, manufacturers realized they would make more money by designing goods for a short life span and planned obsolescence became the norm. Things accelerated in the 1950’s as oil companies introduced the concept of single use plastics and disposability was carefully pitched as an asset. Industry began manufacturing goods en masse that didn’t break down, and the volume of what we produce has continued to increase exponentially as our earth overshoot day gets earlier every year. Fun times! Where things areToday we’re in an overproduction and overconsumption crisis. While progress on going circular has regressed in the past decade as overproduction eats up circular gains, we’re also in a time of rapid change. Upstream companies are adopting circularity as a strategy for resilience and risk as much as environmental concern, as supply chain unpredictability paints a different picture of the future. Pressure is being applied by a ton of new policies coming online in the US and the EU that requires circularity in practice. Many companies are doing more than meets the eye, as greenhushing becomes more common. And innovation is scaling across the board as tech for recycling challenging material streams like e-waste and mixed fiber textiles evolves, as does green chemistry. Downstream people are frustrated with throw-away culture. Right to repair campaigns have gained traction and won in court, from the John Deere lawsuit to iFixit with Apple. The second hand market is booming, and second hand malls are running successfully. Hyper-local initiatives like tool libraries, buy-nothing groups, repair fairs, and clothing swaps are thriving. Things are happening! Approaches to circular designWhat does all of this mean for us as designers? At the product level, circular design hinges on designing for end of life first with a systems awareness of the inputs, lifecycle, and behavior of those that use it. At the systems level, circular design focuses on the programs, services, and innovations that enable closed-loop pathways for those products and materials. Approaches to circular design are highly context specific. Design priorities are defined by how to ensure materials end up in a continuous flow at their highest possible use, often using the framework of the 5 R’s in the Value Hill: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle, with recycling as the last resort. Circular approaches for single-use plastics might focus on refuse (bring your own cup) and reuse programs, whereas circular design for consumer goods might focus on circular sourcing, longevity, and design for repair. System complexitiesDesigning for circularity is full of trade-offs and system complexities. Even the most perfectly designed circular product relies on all the other pieces of the system to work as intended, and success isn't guaranteed. For example:
In short, it’s complicated. And above all is the issue of overproduction. Best laid plans don’t matter if material consumption continues to absorb sustainable progress. Degrowth advocates rightfully criticize mainstream circular economy discussions as operating within economics that perpetuate unsustainable growth. Truly working towards circularity goes beyond western dominated discussions of “resource management”, and is rooted in a decolonized model that centers kinship, relationality, and balance with the natural world. This returns to what we discussed in the last newsletter on systems change. Paradigm shift is key. Circularity is necessary and important work, but without addressing the root causes we risk perpetuating the same problems that got us here. This is big stuff. But hey, who doesn’t like a robust design challenge? Get involvedThere are endless ways to work towards circularity. Take action at work by finding what leverage you have through your role, and organizing with others in your company. Connect with others in your discipline to figure it out together. Making change happen is a team sport. Take action at home by fixing your stuff at local repair cafes, sharing local resources in buy nothing groups and reuse stores, and contributing your design skills to the cause. And don't forget to spread the word to your friends! Communities shift culture, and culture creates what's next. Want to dig deeper into different approaches to circular design? We pulled together some resources. There's a lot in this one - check it out!
Note that we are using this series as a way to update and improve our Resource Library. It is a living document. Interested in getting involved? Let us know via our contribution and feedback forms, or join the Climate Designers team to get involved in a more meaningful way. Stay tuned for next month when we’ll dive into our next perspective! Latest from Climate DesignersNext Successes & Struggles Online Meetup on April 1stWe've done six Successes & Struggles so far. Here are some things we're seeing and learning from these events:
Join us on APR 1 and experience it yourself!
Doom & Bloom launches Season 2We’re back with a new season of Doom & Bloom, and we’re kicking it off during a live recording at San Francisco Climate Week. Season 2 is focused on how designers can shift the culture within the design industry to prioritize climate-forward design decisions. Designers want to do climate-positive work, but they keep hitting roadblocks. We’ll tap back into the Thinknado process to brainstorm ways to make climate action the default at any studio or company. We’re inviting professionals from across industries to brainstorm how to make climate action the default where designers actually work.
And if you live in the Bay Area, join us for a live recording in San Francisco on APR 24. Volunteer with us!Join our global team of designers working to redesign the design industry! We are seeking support for the Newsletter Team, Chapter Leadership Team, Comms Advisory Team and a Podcast Audio & Video Editor for Doom & Bloom. We’re also looking for leads to support existing chapters in Toronto, Singapore, Seattle, and Bangalore. These openings and more are on our volunteer page. Events & Opportunities
External Events
Conferences, Cohorts, and Climate Weeks
Opportunities
InspirationA selection from the team on the topic of circularity.
|
| Donate Today |
Quick Links
Become a member today! Join for free.
Support Climate Designers by donating or joining as a supporting member.
Follow us on Social: We’re on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Want to meet others in your area? Find a Chapter or Hub near you and sign up for their mailing list or event platform to stay in the loop about regional events.
We’re always looking for help. Check out our latest volunteer opportunities.
Want to learn more about Climate Designers? Visit our About page.
Ready to grow your climate design knowledge? Check out our Resource Library.
Pick up your copy of A Field Guide to Climate Design eBook.
Climate Designers
We send monthly newsletters and occasional additional announcements about new events, design opportunities, and other great resources for climate designers.
Hey Climate Designers, In the coming months, each of our newsletters will focus on a different way of looking at systems change and design, following along with the perspectives in our Climate Designers Resource Library. If you haven’t seen the Resource Library before, check it out! To begin, we will start with the broadest perspective of them all, thinking in systems. Systems theory has a ton of permutations and schools of thought, but at the core it’s the study of interconnected component...
Hey Climate Designers, As we enter 2026, we are reflecting on where we’ve been and where we’re going. For those who might be new here, we’d like to take a moment to re-introduce ourselves. We launched in 2019 with a mission to empower designers to learn, connect, and act on climate. We bring all design disciplines together with the goal of fundamentally reshaping the design industry to put climate at the core of every designer’s work. Over the years we've run virtual summits, in-person design...
Hey Climate Designers, As we close out 2025, this message is a short one. This year has hit every region of the world differently, but for many it has been a time of upheaval and change. Traditionally winter was a time of quiet, recuperation, and preparation for the year ahead. These natural cycles are difficult to honor in our current paradigm, but there is much value in creating the spaciousness needed to reflect and make thoughtful intentions for the year to come. Or to simply do nothing....