:: Starter Activities
Line-ups - Other daily activities

Cleaning your teeth
Think about cleaning your teeth this morning and how much water you used while doing it.

- If you had the water running all the time you were cleaning, then go to the near end of the room
- If you only had the tap running for the minimum amount of time necessary, go to the far end
- If you had the tap running some of the time but could have reduced the amount of water, go to somewhere in the middle

What’s it got to do with sustainability? It’s an example of how we should try to reduce the amount of scarce resources we use in any activity, especially when we are designing something.


Disposing of waste at home
Think about how you dispose of waste in your house and how much of it you think about recycling.

- If you recycle everything that is potentially recyclable - paper, plastics, glass, clothing, biodegradable waste, go to the far end of the room
- If you put everything in the bin regardless, go to the near end
- If you recycle some, go to somewhere in the middle

What’s it got to do with sustainability? It’s important to think about what will happen to a product when we’ve finished with it when it’s being designed.


The last article of clothing you bought
Think about the last article you bought and whether or not you thought about any of the following things before you bought it. Who made it and what did they get paid for making it? Which country was it made in and how far did it have to travel to get to you? What materials is it made from, what sort of dyes were used?

- If you thought about all of those things, go to near end
- If you thought about none, go to the far end
- If you thought about one or two, go to somewhere in the middle

What’s it got to do with sustainability? Our decisions as designers and consumers have all sorts of impacts. They create jobs for some people but do they get a fair deal? Energy consumption may be increased because we want cheap clothes mass-produced in China. Environmental damage may be increased through the use of chemicals and travel.