I’ve previously written about how design encourages sustainability. The gist is that people keep well-designed things, so good design encourages conservation, discourages waste.
But there is an obvious dark side to attractive things: we want to have more of them. So good design encourages over-consumption.
This article on reusable grocery bags is the perfect example. Reusable canvas bags should be more sustainable than single-use plastic bags in the long run, even though they are 400x more expensive to make. But people who use well-designed bags them like them so much, they tend to acquire too many of them!
I’m guilty here too. As I wrote,
I still shave with straight razors that are 60-80 years old. Although manufacturing, say a new Thiers-Issard razor, is expensive, the legions of disposable shavers it nullifies will grow for decades, possibly centuries.
That sounds good. But note the plural in “straight razors”. Because I like them, I have more than I strictly need from a utilitarian standpoint. And the truth is, over half of my razors were are new, not heirlooms (which are harder to get in good condition). Granted, I’ve used these “new” razors for 5 years, and will continue to use them for decades. But it’s still a big resource-debt to work off. If I start buying new razors regularly, I’ll never even the score.
The very same attractive qualities of good design that transform disposable goods into artifacts of lasting utility also encourage people to use more items than they need.