Why design—not technology—is key to solving our environmental crisis

As global temperatures rise and there’s a seemingly endless series of climate disasters, it’s natural to look to technology as a solution. From carbon capture (where emissions aren’t released into the atmosphere but buried in the ground) to geo-engineering (where particles are sprayed into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and lower temperatures), green innovations are frequently touted as the way to resolve our continued reliance on fossil fuels.

But in our eagerness for silver bullets, we may be susceptible to optimism bias, focusing too much on potential benefits while ignoring many of the negative effects or drawbacks. A 2022 essay in Nature argues that many of these technologies are often overhyped and don’t include the significant associated challenges, costs, and unintended consequences. For instance, discussions of EVs and their required batteries usually don’t address the harmful extraction of necessary minerals like silicon, lithium, and cobalt.

A less flashy type of climate innovation that can have real impact now doesn’t hype technical fixes and instead focuses on rethinking a company’s operations, including its use of materials and redesign of supply chains. 

Sustainability must start with product design

Studies have shown that 70%–80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined during the design phase, something I’ve also heard from many of the companies I’ve researched over the last two decades.

For instance, Riccardo Bellini, former CEO of luxury fashion house Chloé, told me that an analysis of the company’s full environmental footprint in 2020 revealed that 80% of the company’s sustainability challenges could be “solved at the design table”—specifically that 58% of Chloé’s emissions stemmed from raw materials like cotton, leather, and virgin cashmere.

Understanding this led the company to prioritize lower-impact materials like linen and hemp in new collections, and increase its use of recycled materials, particularly cashmere. And for leather products, Chloé began sourcing through a supplier that had third party certifications ensuring that their tanning and manufacturing processes followed strict environmental standards. But Chloé has remained cautious about vegan leathers, because while it’s an area of tech-focused innovation, many leather substitutes are derived from fossil fuel-intensive sources​.

Bellini told me the company committed that by 2025, 90% of its fabrics would be “lower impact,” a goal it’s on track to meet, as 85% of its products were made with these materials in 2024.

Many of the companies I have researched and written about, from injection molding company Cascade Engineering to waste-management platform Rubicon, have similarly shown that initiatives focused on rethinking inputs and supply chains result not only in positive environmental effects but also significant monetary savings.

Going beyond “do less harm”

Seventh Generation’s former CEO Joey Bergstein also emphasized to me that another reason why sustainability must start with product redesign is that it can allow companies to avoid some emissions in the first place. This approach contrasts with corporate environmental work that begins after the product is produced, so at most can only focus on doing less harm.

Thus, at Seventh Generation, the company’s research and development team aims to rethink products from the ground up, for example exploring new formats or delivery methods that can avoid the use of plastic, a material that’s made from fossil fuels and is hard to recycle. A key initiative at the company is reducing water usage in its products, which has important carbon emissions benefits as it cuts shipping weight and the need for plastic packaging.

For instance, Bergstein told me Seventh Generation has active research efforts to create effective waterless products—such as in powder or tablet forms that are packaged in easily recycled materials like cardboard or steel—for laundry, dish cleaning, counter cleaning, and handwashing. In 2020, one example of this work moved from the lab to the market when the company introduced a line of cleaning products packaged in steel canisters that avoid using plastic altogether.

Seventh Generation is not alone in this approach of prioritizing avoidance of plastic in product development. Leaders at Grove Collaborative told me how they reformulated shampoo products to be a bar (so could be packaged in cardboard) as opposed to a liqud, and footwear and apparel company Allbirds created a new material for shoe soles made from natural sources.

Toward a more holistic view of sustainability

What these examples show is that while it is easy to fall under the spell of sexy green innovations, our sustainability challenges in fact require hard work beyond superficial tweaks or isolated innovations.

Instead of merely striving to “do less harm,” to the environment, which results in incremental changes, companies must take holistic views of their products—starting with design. They must recognize that true impact lies not just in isolated efficiencies or technological innovations but in reimagining supply chains, production, and business models to contribute positively to the planet and society.

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