Changing Consuming Behaviors By Designing Eco-Efficient Green Products

People continue to create and consume more innovative technology products in order to make life more convenience and comfortable than the past. However, huge industrial processes bring significant changes in the Earth. Natural resources are getting to dry up; ozonosphere has been destroyed; environment has been contaminated and so on. These environmental changes cause serious threats to the survival of the Earth's species.

Therefore, in recent years, environmental awareness began to be respected, and researchers explore green issues hoping to make living things can be survival sustainable. Many countries have implemented environmental protection laws to reduce the environmental impacts of industrialized society. For instance, WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive), RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) and EuP (Energy Using Product) organizations under the auspices of the European Union try to limit the environmental pollution caused by products. Laws and regulations seem to be a “pushing” force on changing consuming behaviors.

On the contrary, this research examines the possibility of a “pulling” force on changing consuming behaviors by designing eco-efficient green products. The present study attempts to integrate 39 engineering parameters of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, developed by Genrich Altshuller) with 7 eco-efficient elements (Reduce material intensity; Energy intensity minimized; Dispersion of toxic substances is reduced; Undertake recycling; Capitalize on use of renewable resources; Extend product durability; Service intensity is increased. REDUCES, in short) proposed by WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) to construct a green product design matrix, and use patents to verify the validity of this innovative green product design process. The green product design process of this research may allow designers to generate green products by improving eco-efficient elements as well as resolving conflict design issues. Hopefully, eco-efficient products may attract consumers’ attention and thus unconsciously change consuming behavior, and approach sustainable goals.