Products That Flow: Circular Business Models and Design Strategies for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods

PRODUCTS THAT FLOW is an unusual book about common things that surround us every day. Fast-moving consumer goods, such as food, packaging, disposables, fashion, cheap gifts and gadgets. How can we deal with this huge amount of products in a more sustainable way? Our main challenge is to slow down and make our products last longer. Then we have to organize the flow and design our products in such a way that they can be easily transported and recycled or to render it harmless.

This book offers a wide range of practical examples and points different ways to managing the flows that currently often are out of control. It is a field of concern that many share and for that reason is destined to turn into fertile soil for improvement. It is an important extension to the book PRODUCTS THAT LAST and goes beyond the point where design and entrepreneurship tend to come to a halt.

Siem Haffmans has over 25 years of experience as a sustainable designer and strategic consultant on sustainable innovation and circular economy. He graduated as MSc Industrial Design Engineer at Delft University of Technology. Since then he worked as a researcher at TNO and started already in 1990 a design studio, specialized in eco-design. In 2004 he was one of the founding partners of Partners for Innovation, working on sustainable innovation and circular economy for leading companies in Europe, such as: DAF trucks, Heineken, Philips, Tarkett/Desso, SUEZ and the packaging industry. He is frequently asked as a (guest) lecturer at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, and the Dutch Packaging Centre. Siem is also founder of Ragbag, a brand for fair trade and recycled bags from India.

Marjolein van Gelder has a MSc Sustainable Development (Utrecht University/University Basel) and a BSc Sociology (University of Amsterdam). She worked for more than 5 years at the National Government in many different departments at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment on sustainability. The last three years she worked as an advisor at the knowledge, innovation and strategy department. Policy processes, research, implementation and policy advice are her fields of expertise. Currently she is strategic consultant at Partners for Innovation, working on circulair economy and the CIRCO project.

Ed van Hinte studied aviation and space technology for some time in the seventies after which he switched to industrial design at Delft Technical University and graduated MSc Industrial Design. He is driven by a certain aversion to conventions within creative communities. He is a freelance writer, editor, curator and teacher. He initiated lightness-studios and currently he focuses on scenarios for introducing lightweight structures and buildings and on future value scenarios. In addition, together with Renate Boere he started design research facility DRS22 in The Hague. DRS22 performs design research in public space, communication and lightweight structures.