Being Concerned with Substances of Concern: A Classification of Ethical Dilemmas in Circular Product Design.

In a circular economy, the use of hazardous substances forces industrial designers to face ethical dilemmas that are just as complex as those in a linear economy. A system in which resources are continuously reused rather than discarded cannot afford the reintroduction of chemicals and materials that are harmful to the environment and human health. However, eliminating or substituting a substance that causes concern is not always possible due to the design requirements or a conflict of values. This classification focuses on the types of ethical dilemmas designers are met with when trying to make their designs as safe and sustainable as possible, but are unable to maximize all of the moral values involved. In order to establish some parameters, the paper generalizes these issues and categorizes them into ethical dilemmas that appear in the production stage, those that appear in the use stage, those that appear at the end-of-use stage, and those that appear between different stages of the product’s life. By categorizing the dilemmas into stages of the product’s life that they appear in, a tool is created that helps not only designers but also toxicologists, policymakers, and other stakeholders sensitize themselves to ethical issues.