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TRASH TALK: WHO USES WHICH REUSABLE PRODUCT? USER INSIGHTS AND DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES FOR SINGLE-USE ALTERNATIVES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

Laure Herweyers ,
Els Du Bois  and
Ingrid Moons
Laure Herweyers*
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp
Els Du Bois
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp
Ingrid Moons
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp
*
Herweyers, Laure, University of Antwerp, Belgium, [email protected]

Abstract

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Single-use products often end up in the environment as waste, threatening ecosystems and human life. This indicates a need to transition towards sustainable reuse routines. In this study, we investigate to what extent reusable products are already established in society and what design properties users require. We compare the results between user clusters and countries. To create a meaningful list of reusable products to investigate, we distinguish four categories based on typical barriers by means of focus groups (n=3) and interviews (n=32). Next, we did a survey (n=3000) in three countries (Belgium, Russia, U.S.) to define user clusters and investigate product usage and design requirements. Most established products are hard-material products such as lunch boxes, while intimate hygiene products, such as menstrual cups, are not established yet. Multifunctionality and compactness are the most indicated product requirements. There are significant differences between countries and clusters for both research questions. We conclude that different types of users have different needs: while a sharing system might work for one group, a customizable option would be more suitable for others.

Keywords

Long-term reuse behaviourSustainabilityCircular economyCross-country studyUser centred design
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 3641 - 3650
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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