Date： April 13-14, 2013
Venue： Shanghai Ecodesign Fair, ‘Cool Docks’, Shanghai
Guides： Lu Jinjing, Gong Muzhi
Sponsors： Shanghai Ecodesign Fair
We are operating a “question booth” at the Ecodesign Fair where visitors may review questions that other people have asked about eco-design, and submit their own.
Date： Saturday, April 3, 2013, 18：45–20：15
Venue： Xindanwei, 50 Yongjia Road，Shanghai
Guides： Raefer Wallace, James FeldKamp
Partners： Xindanwei，Ming Jian Consumer Testing，GIGA
Sponsors： Shanghai Ecodesign Fair
What should designers of “eco products” be thinking about?
Workshop Aim:
A key criteria for exhibitors to participate in the annual Shanghai Eco Design Fair is that they value open dialogue about ecodesign. To symbolize this, each exhibitor’s booth will be decorated with a question about their product or services relating to ecodesign. Through friendly discussion and focused teamwork this workshop IdeaSlam will generate questions for display at the fair that are compelling and engaging enough to intrigue the public.
Workshop Structure:
- Led by experts in supply chain consulting, eco-ratings, and consumer reports, workshop participants will be assigned one or two exhibitors at the fair to briefly research in order to devise a compelling question.
- These can be hard questions about possibly toxic ingredients, “soft-ball” questions about the advantages of certain design features etc.
- Each question will be written out in Chinese and English on fun banners to be displayed at the booth of the respective business/ organization on the day of the fair.
- Enjoy casual conversation with a friendly mix of people involved in environmental advocacy and social enterprise. While you’re here pick up your Evergreen token.
UPDATE: Partial Question List
“How can slow fashion be promoted within fast fashion circles?”
“Is there a more rudimentary way of describing the ingredients in your products that doesn’t require so many unfamiliar chemical names?”
“Could you employ and train workers from local disadvantaged communities?”
“Do you reinvest a portion of the profits back into the local community?”
“Could you promote recycling in the community by setting up drop-off points for unwanted leather goods?”
“Are your ingredients sourced locally?”
“What are you doing to make your services more accessible to lower income households?”
“Can your coffee beans be grown closer to the place of consumption?”
“What are possible uses for residual coffee grounds and related processing strategies?”
“As a retailer what steps do you take to assure the products you carry are ecologically sound?”
“What specifically does your test certificate signify? What further tests could be performed that might be helpful?”
“What education efforts do you undertake relating to healthy diets?”
“Can such jewelry be created in China, closer to the place of purchase?”
“How does the choice of using organic or conventional materials effect your design decisions?”
“Is training migrant women to spin yarn and knit samples a viable business model, able to compete with factory-produced yarn?”