Green Product Design RPI’s Eco-Ed Research Group

What Is It? The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful, sensitive design". Manifestations of sustainable design require no non- renewable resources, impact the environment minimally, and relate people with the natural environment. Beyond the "elimination of negative environmental impact", sustainable design must create projects that are meaningful innovations that can shift behavior. A dynamic balance between economy and society, intended to generate long- term relationships between user and object/service and finally to be respectful and mindful of the environmental and social differences.

Why? America’s waste industry successfully manages 243 million tons of household and other municipal solid waste annually (U.S. EPA, “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2009” If we put all of the solid waste collected in the U.S. in a line of average garbage trucks, that line of trucks could cross the country, extending from New York City to Los Angeles, more than 100 times

Goals Use of Low-Impact Materials Energy Efficiency Quality and Durability Design for Reuse and Recycling Renewability

Product Life Cycle

Materials Use materials that avoid toxic emissions Use materials that improve indoor air quality and contribute to a healthy environment. Use products made with salvaged or recycled content Use products that conserve natural resources Use materials that conserve energy and water

Materials Environmental effects of recycling[15] MaterialEnergy savings Air pollutionAir pollution savings Aluminium95% [2][7] [2][7] 95% [2][16] [2][16] Cardboard24% — Glass5-30%20% Paper40% [7] [7] 73% Plastics70% [7] [7] — Steel60% [4] [4] —

Examples Dyson Air Blade - Reduces energy

Examples CFL’s

Ecovative Case Study Ecovative uses nature to replace unsustainable plastics, foams and other harmful materials with natural composites. Using natural principles and radical new technologies, we are growing the future of high performance, affordable, and environmentally sensible materials.

How It works We actually grow packaging using mycelium, a fungal network of threadlike cells. This mycelium grows around agricultural by- products like buckwheat husks, oat hulls, or cotton burrs to any shape we make. In 5 – 7 days, in the dark, with no watering, and no petrochemical inputs, the mycelium envelops the by- products, binding them into a strong and beautiful packaging part. Inside every cubic inch of the packaging, there’s a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibers! At the end of the process, we treat the packaging with heat to stop the growth so there will never be any spores.

Examples

Sustainability By using mycelium and agricultural by- products, we utilize materials that are environmentally low-impact, 100 percent biodegradable and renewable, and are part of a healthy ecosystem. Unlike other bio-plastics, our technology isn’t based on turning food or fuel crops into materials; we’re only using inedible crop waste to grow our products. The final biodegradable materials we produce have a variety of end-of-life options, including home composting. From the materials we choose to the way it is produced, we ensure our materials are part of a truly sustainable future.