A Product’s Journey
Follow the same modular product through two radically different futures. Choose a path, then scroll to move the product through its life.
Redesign & Reinvent
Durability, adaptability, repair and upgrades are designed in from the start. Replaceable components and reversible assembly preserve future options.
Business model: leasing, product-as-a-service or take-back.Use
The first customer gets the function they need. The goal is to use the product’s capacity efficiently and keep it performing for as long as possible.
Redistribute
A working product is collected, checked and passed on through resale, reuse, rental or sharing—extending life with almost no reprocessing.
The product stays intact. Most value is retained.Repair
A defective or worn part is repaired or replaced while the rest of the product remains untouched. It returns to the same or a new user.
Refurbish
The product is inspected, cleaned and updated. Worn or outdated parts are replaced and its functional and cosmetic quality is restored.
Remanufacture
The product is disassembled. Components are tested and sorted; useful parts are retained, worn parts restored, and the product is rebuilt to near-new quality.
Components may also become part of another product.Recycle
Only when the previous loops are exhausted are materials sorted and processed into new raw materials. Material value remains, but product and component value is lost.
Extract
Virgin resources are extracted and processed. The journey begins with new material rather than value already in circulation.
Produce
The product is manufactured for a single sale. Repair, disassembly and return are not central design requirements.
Use Once
Value is delivered during the first ownership period, but the manufacturer loses its connection to the product.
Discard
A fault, a worn component or changing needs trigger replacement of the entire product—even when most of it still works.
Waste
The product is landfilled or incinerated. The value invested in production, components, labour and materials leaves the system.
Choose the smallest loop that preserves the greatest value.
Keep the product in use. Preserve its components. Recycle its materials only when every higher-value option has been exhausted.