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

A large part of our current linear economy consists of fast moving consumer goods. Products that Flow is about the design of these goods: mass produced and inexpensive products that people buy on a regular basis and have a short lifespan. Whether we look at fast fashion, food and drinks (including packaging) or disposables such as plastic cups, after a short usage period the product becomes waste. A great deal of this waste is leaking into the environment on landfills or plastic soups.

Should we stop consuming these products? Can we live without packaging, consumables and fashion? We might be able to, but sometimes we need them – for example in case of packaging that protects a product and therefore prevents food waste.

We need a more circular approach to fast moving consumer goods, starting at the beginning of production and consumption: the design. Through circular business models and design strategies Products that Flow demonstrates how end-of-life products can become a resource for new ones instead of becoming waste.

This book is not about linear problems. It’s about circular solutions.

About the Author

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.