Circular design is an approach to product development that enables products and materials to be re-used, recycled and regenerated in the process of circular economy. Drawing on three circular economy principles, circular products are designed to: 1. minimize waste and pollution; 2. stay in use for as long as possible; and 3. enable regeneration of their materials into new resource streams,(1) thus ‘closing the loop’ in the fashion industry. Circular design strategies are methods and frameworks that offer designers and product developers guidance for meeting the principles of circular design. Examples include zero waste design, design for longevity, modular design, design for disassembly, design for remanufacture, upcycling, design for recyclability or design for biodegradability.(2) However, it is critical to recognize that circular design can only bring its intended environmental benefits if it is accompanied by fundamental cuts in global production and consumption rates, radically slowing down the overall throughput of materials and resources across all industries.
CIRCULAR DESIGN
