The product we are redesigning is a toothbrush. Most toothbrushes are made of a plastic handle with a rubber grip and nylon bristles attached using metal staples. We are trying to make it more sustainable by using fewer types of materials and making the materials recyclable and compostable. The design we created is a recycled metal handle with replaceable brush heads that are made of bamboo with bamboo bristles attached with a non-toxic and biodegradable adhesive. The metal handle can be created of recycled metal and can be recycled after its use whereas the bamboo head is compostable. The business model for this product includes a brush replacement service that sends users 6 months’ worth of brush heads at a time to allow for ease of brush head replacement.
The sustainable design principles used include durability, ease of maintenance and repair, excluding toxic materials, and adaptation for circulation. The metal handle design makes the product durable. Additionally, the use of replaceable bristle heads allows the toothbrush to be easily repaired when bristles fall out or the head is damaged. Furthermore, by replacing the polymer and metal staples with easily recyclable metal and biodegradable materials, the product excludes the use of toxic materials. Finally, the replaceable brush heads and the metal handle made of recycled metals make the product adapted for circulation.
The economic benefit from the user side is less spending on buying a new toothbrush, and from the production side is less cost in producing new brush heads and handles. In addition, the user does not need to worry about constantly buying new brush heads. Further, the environmental benefit of this design is that it eliminates waste since all the materials can be recycled or composted. Additionally, the design removes waste by upcycling metal to create the handle.
The product belongs to the long life, hybrid refill, and waste-to-wealth circular economy business model. This is due to the durable, recycled metal handle with refill bristle heads. In addition, the product belongs to the Recycle in User Collection cycle in the butterfly diagram.