How often have you seen a label on a product proclaiming it to be made from ‘recycled material’, ‘bioplastic’ or similar, without it giving any details of the concrete environmental benefits? What do these terms really mean? A drive for greater transparency and demonstrable environmental benefits is happening in product design, through emerging legislation & standards, and consumer demand for more sustainable products and unambiguous marketing. In Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Product Design, Daniel Liden seeks to tackle the lazy ‘greenwashing’ terminology we see every day, providing a guide for product designers, manufacturers and consumers wishing to make better & more informed decisions about materials. The book comprises six chapters devoted to material categories plastics, textiles, metals, ceramics and glass, wood and paper and a seventh chapter covering emerging sustainable technologies. Each chapter includes interviews with industry experts, as well as photos, diagrams, environmental impact data, general material properties and more.
