GREEN MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS, THE FUTURE FOR A GREEN PRODUCT DESIGN

Materials are the essence of economic life in industrial world including the resource inputs and the product outputs of industrial production. A major concern of today’s society is the imminent depletion of natural resources derived from fossil fuels. When 300 Mt of polymers are used annually in the form of plastics, usually derived from fossil fuels, the need to find new materials on the basis of renewable resources is more than necessary. Furthermore, various regulations are nudging green design concepts to the forefront of many designers’ and product developers’ minds. So, several European countries require manufacturers to take products back from consumers at the end of the product’s life, creating an incentive for manufacturers to design products for easy recycling or reuse. The initial research and design phase is the first and best time to start a product down the path of reduced environmental impact. Green materials fit better within ecosystem practices, helping create eco-friendly, recyclable and biodegradable materials, developing a better relationship of practice and donation to a serviced based economy. Due to the properties, non-toxic, organic and recycling, green materials are widely used in various industrial applications. Also, they can be categorized as natural materials, plastics, ceramics and composite materials, and they are extensively utilized in building constructions materials.Green materials product design, known as the Design for the Environment (DfE), is the design for eco-efficiency and sustainable design of the product. It is a dynamic business approach to address environmental issues in the early stages of the product development process in order to minimize negative environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the product. In this study, green materials and their applications are reviewed, being the future of a green product design.