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Matthew S. Kressy and Christine M. Ortiz. Qua, Frances Jillian S.(Frances Jillian SyCip) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program. System Design and Management Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program 2019-09-26T21:00:14Z 2019-09-26T21:00:14Z 2019 2019 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122335 1119537615 Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. This study explores the broader questions and implications involved in selecting sustainable materials for designing everyday products for consumers, through a qualitative review of leather and new modern alternatives. Leather is a resilient material that has been used for thousands of years. However, the processes involved in producing the material on a mass scale create adverse environmental and social impact when not carefully managed and considered. Although the modern leather alternatives may have comparatively smaller environmental footprints, designing a sustainable product may not be as simple as replacing one material for another and involves complex value judgements amongst industry players and consumers. This, therefore, brings up questions about what is material or immaterial when it comes to sustainable design decisions, and emphasizes the need for systemic thinking across the value chain in order to have a truly meaningful attempt towards designing for environmental, social and economic sustainability. by Frances Jillian S. Qua. S.M. in Engineering and Management S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program 83 pages eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Engineering and Management Program. System Design and Management Program. (Im)Material : a qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives Qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives Thesis application/pdf 2019-09-26T21:00:11Z Publication Master SysDes unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="d00424db-6fa4-45fd-9979-d33760c6b15f"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>(Im)Material : a qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives</Title> <Subtitle>Qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives</Subtitle> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2019</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Qua, Frances Jillian S.(Frances Jillian SyCip)</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Engineering and Management Program.</Keyword> <Keyword>System Design and Management Program.</Keyword> <Abstract>This study explores the broader questions and implications involved in selecting sustainable materials for designing everyday products for consumers, through a qualitative review of leather and new modern alternatives. Leather is a resilient material that has been used for thousands of years. However, the processes involved in producing the material on a mass scale create adverse environmental and social impact when not carefully managed and considered. Although the modern leather alternatives may have comparatively smaller environmental footprints, designing a sustainable product may not be as simple as replacing one material for another and involves complex value judgements amongst industry players and consumers. This, therefore, brings up questions about what is material or immaterial when it comes to sustainable design decisions, and emphasizes the need for systemic thinking across the value chain in order to have a truly meaningful attempt towards designing for environmental, social and economic sustainability.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>