“Sustainable” isn’t enough

A blog post inspired by John Thorne’s sustainability D&T lecture.

We’re surrounded by products that are labelled as sustainable.

Bamboo toothbrushes, recycled tote bags, biodegradable packaging. On the surface, it feels like we’re making progress, like we’re slowly shifting towards a more responsible way of designing and consuming. But the more you look at it, the more it starts to feel like something isn’t quite right.

At some point, sustainability stopped being about making genuinely better products and started becoming something that could be marketed. A label, a selling point, something that allows both companies and consumers to feel like they’re doing the right thing without necessarily changing anything meaningful.

It’s completely understandable why people buy into that. No one actively wants to make decisions that harm the environment, and if a product presents itself as a “better” option, it makes sense to choose it. But after being exposed to this marketing tactic over and over again, there’s a growing disconnect between what we’re told and what we actually experience.

We’re not really being sold higher quality, longer lasting, more useful products. We’re often being sold cheaper alternatives, wrapped in a narrative that makes them feel more valuable than they actually are. As a result, we end up in a strange position where we’re consuming products that perform worse, don’t last as long and don’t meaningfully reduce environmental impact, all while believing we’re contributing to something positive.

Are we improving the environment, or just improving how we feel about our consumption?

The solution isn’t to create more “sustainable” products, it’s to create fewer, better ones. Products that genuinely solve problems, that push technology forward, are actually worth owning and last a long time. The kind of products that justify their existence through their utility and longevity, rather than relying on a label just to be bought.

There’s a strong argument for repairing what we already have, extending the lifespan of products wherever possible, but that only works if those products are still capable of meeting modern demands. Holding onto outdated, inefficient tools purely for the sake of sustainability can end up slowing progress, especially if those tools are preventing us from improving efficiency or developing better systems. Now I understand that not all the products we’re repairing are life changing, however every little 1% counts when trying to change the bigger picture.

Replacement, when done properly, doesn’t have to be a negative thing. If products are designed in a way that allows them to be broken down, recycled and re-used as part of something better, then replacement becomes part of a larger cycle of improvement rather than just a contributor to waste. If we actually want to make meaningful changes to the world, we need access to the best tools available, not just the most ethically labelled ones.

The challenge is that this doesn’t exist in isolation from how people choose to live. Minimalism, in theory, offers a clear path forward. Consume less, own less, waste less. But in reality, people don’t just want to meet their basic needs, they want to enjoy themselves. Art, music, sport, fashion and hobbies all involve some level of consumption, and it’s unrealistic to expect a complete shift away from that.

Instead, it becomes a question of intention.

Not necessarily consuming less, but consuming better. Choosing things that genuinely add value to your life, rather than things that you’ve been convinced will.

Designers do have a role to play in this, but only if they’re willing to push beyond the constraints of the systems they work within. Businesses are built on selling products, and that often conflicts with the idea of producing less, but those systems aren’t permanent. With the rapid development of technology and AI, the way we design, manufacture and consume is going to change, whether we like it or not.

So it’s worth asking what’s actually worth creating in the first place. If the end goal is to improve both our own lives and the health of the planet, then simply producing more things, even under the banner of sustainability, isn’t going to get us there.

Create, don’t just consume.

And if you are consuming, make sure it’s something that genuinely benefits your life, not just something you’ve been sold to believe does.