Based on a literature review, this article discusses how the challenge of diminishing clothing production volumes has been approached within the field of sustainable fashion. We identify six common strategies in literature and discuss the approach of user involvement in the process of design and/or manufacture of garments in detail. A critical analysis of the state of the art in the field points out that these strategies have been constructed, studied and promoted without empirical validation. The article concludes with a recommendation to move forward from conceptual to empirical studies. Analyses of existing initiatives and their results in terms of consumer buying behavior and obsolete inventory are recommended as first steps towards validation.
Growing volumes of wood are being used in construction, interior architecture, and product design, resulting in increasing amounts of wood waste. Using this waste is challenging, because it is too labor-intensive to process large volumes of uneven wood pieces that vary in geometry, quality, and origin. The project “Circular Wood for the Neighborhood” researches how advanced computational design and robotic production approaches can be used to create meaningful applications from waste wood. shifting the perception of circular wood as a simply harvested stream, towards a material with unique aesthetics of its own right. The complexity of the material is suggested to be tackled by switching from the object-oriented design towards designing soft systems. The system developed uses a bottom-up approach where each piece of wood aggregates according to certain parameters and the designed medium is mainly rule-sets and connections. The system is able to produce many options and bring the end-user for a meaningful co-design instead of choosing from the pre-designed options. Material-driven design algorithms were developed, which can be used by designers and end-users to design bespoke products from waste wood. In the first of three case studies, a small furniture item (“coffee table”) was designed from an old door, harvested from a renovation project. For its production, two principle approaches were developed: with or without preprocessing the wood. The principles were tested with an industrial robotic arm and available waste wood. A first prototype was made using the generated aggregation from the system, parametric production processes and robotic fabrication.
The article highlights the limitations of speed as a framework for discussing and tackling the environmental challenges of growing clothing volumes or quantities. This argument builds on a series of wardrobe studies mapping the number of clothing items owned, purchased, and disposed of by 25 people during six months, and the reasons behind purchase and disposal. The results indicate that clothing consumption is rarely driven by replacement and that opportunity plays a main role. These characteristics of clothing consumption explain why it takes more than producing long-lasting garments to reduce clothing demand. Rather than delaying the disposal of garments, a more straight-forward focus on reducing production is needed, that is the contribution of a volume-centric approach.
The production, use, disposal and recovery of packaging not only generates massive volumes of waste, it also consumes raw materials, water and energy (Fitzpatrick et al. 2012). Simultaneously, consumers have shown an increasing interest in products incorporating sustainable and social attributes (Kletzan et al., 2006). As a result, environmentally friendly packaging, also called ecofriendly or sustainable packaging, has become mainstream. In this context, packaging is more than just ensuring the product's protection and easing transportation, it is also a communicative tool (Palmer, 2000) and it becomes associated with multiple drivers of the purchasing process. Consequently, companies face pressure to innovate responding to consumer demands, and focusing on sustainable solutions that reduce harmful materials and favour green alternatives for both, the product and the packaging. Although the above has triggered research on consumer choice for sustainable products and alternatives on sustainable packaging, the relation between sustainable packaging and consumer behaviour remains underexplored. This research unpacks this relationship, i.e., empirically verifies which dimensions (recyclability, biodegradability, reusability) of sustainable packaging are perceived and valued by consumers. Put differently, this research investigates consumer behaviour towards the functions of sustainable packaging in terms of product protection, convenience, reliability of information and promotion, and scrutinises the perceived credibility of the associated ethical responsibility claims. It aims to identify those packaging materials and/or sustainability characteristics perceived as more sustainable by consumers as well as the factors influencing actual consumer choice towards sustainable packaged products. We aim to gain more insights in the perceptual frame that different types of consumers apply when exposed to sustainable packaging. To this end, we will make use of revealed preference methods to measure consumer valuations of sustainable packaged products. This game-theoretic approach should provide a more complete depiction of consumers' perceptions and preferences.
One of the major challenges for microsystem-based (MEMS -based) devices producing companies in general, and Bronkhorst High-Tech in particular, is to determine as early as possible in the production process which devices perform within specifications and if so by how much. Being able to separate the devices that do not comply as early as possible in the assembly flow would prevent spending time, money and materials on unsellable products. Being able to further separate good devices in multiple “performance bins” would bring even more cost and waste reduction by enabling Bronkhorst to pre-select finished products for different customer requirements. In this project we specifically focus on a micromachined flow sensor which is considered for a scale-up in production volumes in the near future. The ability to separate out badly performing devices translates to the challenge of finding a suitable test method, yielding the following research question: what are the success factors that would allow our MEMS partners to correlate product performance with measurements (tests) performed early in the production cycle? An answer makes it possible to implement the planned production scale-up of this MEMS device but also to reduce costs and waste typically associated with production failures. The device selected in this project is taken as an example for a broad range of chip-based MEMS devices with similar challenges. Therefore, we plan to use an applied research approach, looking at theoretical models of both device and production process, performing correlation measurements and delivering our recommendations on how to best tackle these production issues. It is our intention to thus generate expertise (knowledge & data) as well as a network on which we build a consortium around a future PPS (public-private partnership) where these challenges form a common theme.
The expanding world’s population challenges the way we produce and supply food. The ever-increasing production of food and its subsequent generated biomass forms immense risks to the environment and, eventually, public health. Aside from developing innovative food production methods (hydroponics, non-toxic pesticides, resistant species), the generation of waste biomass remains a challenge. Large volumes of food waste are processed in animal food, biofuel or used as a composting source, while these by-products are valuable sources of bioactive compounds (BACs). The processing of fruits and vegetables generates a variety of biomass such as peels, seeds and pulp that contain high-value compounds such as polyphenols. These BACs are implemented in pharmaceutical products or food supplements for their beneficial influence on human health, such as antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties. The valorization and extraction of these compounds originating from agricultural waste streams is a key strategy for recycling and reusing food waste and, subsequently, reducing the environmental impact caused by waste streams. Additionally, the ability to further process food waste into valuable compounds can provide an extra source of income for the agricultural sector, supporting local economies. Local pharmaceutical companies are interested in developing methods to extract BACs from local sources since the current market is strongly dependent on the Asian market. Phytopharma finds the production of local food supplements crucial for the local circular economy and their sustainable business. During this project, the consortium partners will investigate sustainable extraction methods of BACs from local waste streams (duurzame chemie: bronnen en grondstoffen). More specifically Zuyd, CHILL and Phytopharma will pursue the “green” extraction of quercetin (BACs) from locally sourced onion waste. The partners will explore various extraction and purification methods needed to evaluate a potentially sustainable business model. Furthermore, the bioavailability of quercetin will be enhanced by encapsulation.
