2.10 AS91363 Demonstrate understanding of sustainability in design.
Read the information below and the Chewing Gum Packaging, discuss what you think would have been the competing priorities and compromises when Wrigley changed the packaging design for chewing gum?
What research did they have had to do to ensure the material used for packaging was more sustainable then the original packaging?
Did their research into lifecycle of new types of plastic lead to innovation in terms of packaging?
Do you consider this to be a sustainable technological outcome?
http://www.wrigley.com/aunz/our-commitment/sustainability.aspx
“What kind of impact does the packaging have on the environment? How can Wrigley develop innovative new products in sustainable ways? Are some ingredients more eco-friendly than others? It's these questions, and many more, that Wrigley is working to answer to become a wholly sustainable organisation”
Choose a product
Research the following. Discuss:
1. What materials have existing sustainable designs been made from? These materials should be illustrated and labelled to identify how they have been used.
2. Why do the existing sustainable designs use the identified materials? You should identify the environmental impact of each material by considering how they are made, how easy they are to use and how they are disposed of. This could be by using images, diagrams and explanations.
3. Describe the lifecycle of the potential materials. How long do they last? How well do they wear? What happens to them, as they get old? When would you stop using them? What can you use them for afterwards?
4. What other alternative materials could be used to make the product? Consider; substitutes, recycling, or reuse and recombination. Illustrate your list and make comment about how feasible this would be.
5. What have you discovered about the selection of materials for some uses? In high wear areas? Where the [product] requires movement? To maintain a particular shape or use? Illustrate these areas and comment.
Or:
1. Explain the relationship between lifecycle design, innovation and sustainability.
2. Explain how lifecycle analysis is undertaken and how this determines the focus for design intervention
3. Explain how issues identified by lifecycle analysis led to design innovation being applied in a sustainable technology.
4. Discuss the relationship between lifecycle analysis, design innovation and a sustainable technology
5. Discuss the competing priorities and compromises made as a result of lifecycle analysis when developing a sustainable technology
What questions would you ask to guide your students?
Lesley Pearce, Technology National Co-ordinator, The Auckland University