Page 328 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development
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Consumer Pr oducts Industries 303
• Is it a global design, yet sensitive to local requirements?
• Is it convenient to care for and clean or maintain?
• Does it have any added value, a tangible benefit to the
customer?
• Is it authentic, i.e., rooted in the real world?
• Is it art, reflecting timeless aesthetics rather than current
trends?
• Are we just chasing fashion, driven by market cycles?
• Are we designing for our core customer?
• Have we done our homework, including research and
testing?
• Is it timely, considering the state of the market and
competition?
• Does it cause any unnecessary harm, environmental or
otherwise?
The last element summarizes Patagonia’s DFE commitment and
has led it to adopt innovations such as organic cotton, recyclable
polyesters (see Figure 16.4), and Synchilla fabric from soda bottles.
However, the sustainability journey has hit a few potholes along the
way, and Patagonia is candid in documenting its successes and fail-
ures in the “Footprint Chronicles.” For example, the company once
tried to replace plastic buttons with rainforest tagua nut buttons, sup-
ported by an indigenous industry, but the nuts could not survive
washers and dryers. Another example is a persistent, bioaccumulative
chemical, perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA), which is a common con-
stituent of water-repellent membranes and coatings. Patagonia is try-
ing to remove PFOA from its lines without sacrificing performance. It
has replaced the membranes with polyester and polyurethane materi-
als but has not yet found a viable alternative to the existing coatings.
FIGURE 16.4 Patagonia’s Eco Rain
Shell jacket, made from 100%
recycled polyester.