The relationship between design and refurbishment in the furniture sector within the scope of circular economy

Abstract

A comprehensive change for achieving a circular economy in the consumption and production systems is needed. This transformation requires redesigning the production system by considering each stage of the product life cycle. One of the requirements of the circular economy concerning the product life cycle is refurbishment. Refurbishment has an important impact on reducing waste generation by extending the life of products and reducing the use of resources for new product production. Refurbishment is effective in the furniture industry. The furniture sector has been studied by considering eco-design criteria. Refurbishment systems have also been studied in various sectors. Unlike previous studies, the original value of this research is to examine refurbished furniture with sustainable design approaches at the product and product-service system design levels. In this scope, multiple case studies have been conducted. As a result, an in-depth analysis of furniture refurbishment systems, potentials for improvement, and recommendations aiming for the transfer to other sectors were developed. The thesis consists of five chapters. The first part is the introductory part. The first part includes the reasons that form the basis of the research problem, the requirements in the literature, the scope of the research, and the aims of the research. The main research question is as follows: What are the necessary criteria in the consumption and production systems of refurbished products in the furniture sector, at the level of product design and product-service systems design? The sub-questions are: What are the difficulties encountered while designing refurbished furniture product-service systems and how can they be overcome? How can design contribute to refurbished product-service systems? The second part of the thesis includes a literature review on sustainable product-service systems and circular product design. Accordingly, the literature content brings together topics such as "environmental sustainability", "product design strategies for sustainability", "ecological design", "cyclical design", "product life cycle design", "emotionally durable design", and "a rhetoric of functional object arrangement". Finally, it is mentioned how refurbished furniture differs from second-hand furniture theoretically and practically. In the third section, selected methods and cases are explained. The main research method of the project is a case study. Case studies provided a holistic view and deep and explanatory data to be collected. As the data collection method required for case analysis, online research, on-site observation, and interviews were made. The interviews were composed of both open-ended questions to understand the product service system and a checklist that would be useful in determining the product design criteria categorized based on the product design literature. In the third part, a detailed explanation is provided of why Dank! and Spotçu Mimar were chosen as the companies for case study research. Additionally, detailed information obtained through online research about these companies is presented. In the fourth chapter, research findings and discussion are presented. As a result of the interviews, how the company processes are carried out is explained comparatively. The product service systems of both cases were mapped by the literature. In addition, according to the results obtained from the product checklist, the design features that should be included in the furniture to be included in the refurbished process are included. The fifth section is the conclusion section. The inferences obtained as a result of the analyses are included. Further research recommendations are indicated. In conclusion, researching companies that contribute to the increased sales and enhanced reliability of refurbished products in Turkey will significantly contribute to the literature on design and sustainability. It is imperative that research areas about this subject matter expand over time. As biases against second-hand products diminish, these types of services and offerings will become increasingly preferred. Studying their contributions to consumption culture and sustainability is important.