Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Product Design
About this book
Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Product Design is a practical guide to material choices for industrial design students, product designers, and CMF specialists. Written by Daniel Liden and published by Laurence King in 2023, the 240-page English-language book looks critically at labels such as recycled material and bioplastic, which often say little about real environmental benefit. Six chapters cover plastics, textiles, metals, ceramics and glass, wood, and paper, and a seventh chapter surveys emerging sustainable technologies.
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For coursework, the book gives students a structured way to question materials rather than accept marketing claims. It supports projects where a concept must be tied to a material, a manufacturing route, and an end-of-life scenario, and it helps frame conversations about transparency and responsible specification. Students can use it to compare alternatives, prepare material selections for prototypes, and write clearer rationales for design decisions. On a university reading list, it connects sustainability debates with the everyday choices that shape a product's character and impact.
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