Why Poor Design Still Blocks Progress with Dr Vicky Lofthouse

About this episode

Emma Burlow and Dr Vicky Lofthouse discuss the challenges of poor design in sustainability and the importance of circularity in product design.

In this practical product design episode of Straight Talking Sustainability , host Emma Burlow sits down with Dr Vicky Lofthouse (industrial designer, sustainable innovation consultant working across aerospace to face cream) to explore why circularity remains frustratingly niche despite massive opportunities, how Triton Showers removed single-use plastic whilst reducing costs through unexpected secondary packaging savings, why cheap virgin plastic blocks progress, and Vicky's pet peeve: bad design creating products that break instead of lasting (function must come first, otherwise completely pointless). Both celebrating 30-year sustainability anniversaries (starting 1996 when it was super niche), Emma and Vicky reflect on progress: awareness is no longer niche, CSR is embedded, OEMs recognise risks and opportunities, yet familiar conversations persist (aerospace discovering circularity 20 years late feels baffling given sector intelligence). Vicky's background spans industrial design undergraduate, PhD with Electrolux at Cranfield, designing the "world's first most eco cooker," now consulting across sectors because learning is cross-disciplinary, whilst solutions remain…

People in this episode

Host: Emma Burlow

Guest: Dr Vicky Lofthouse

Topics covered

• product design
• sustainability
• circular economy
• packaging regulations
• industrial design

Keywords

• sustainability
• circularity
• design
• packaging
• plastic

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Triton Showers, Electrolux

Places: Cranfield

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