MYP Design Year 1 · Unit 4 · Lesson 32
Sustainable Design
L32 · 01

Analyse a Sustainable Product

A product can reduce one kind of impact while creating another trade-off. Analysis looks for evidence, not a “green” label.

Student Materials
Sustainability lens
M
MATERIALWhat resources and properties support the product?
L
LIFEWhat helps the product last, repair, reuse, or move into a next life?
T
TRADE-OFFWhat limitation or competing priority remains?
Use ← → / Space to navigate.Lesson 32 · Product analysis
Learning Focus
Analyse with evidence
L32 · 02

By the end of today, students can…

01

Identify

features that may reduce waste or extend useful life.

02

Explain

how those features affect use, resources, or next life.

03

Recognize

a trade-off or limitation.

Builds on Unit 2 product analysisNew sustainability lens
Mini-Lesson
A “sustainable” claim needs evidence
L32 · 03

Claim only

“This product is eco-friendly.”

Evidence

“The container is designed for repeated refill, which can reduce the number of single-use containers needed over time.”

Students do not need to prove the entire product is sustainable.Analyse specific features
Three Analysis Lenses
Look past marketing
L32 · 04

Resources

Material amount, reclaimed content, simple construction, packaging.

Useful life

Durability, refill, repair, replaceable parts, maintenance.

Next life

Reuse, disassembly, repurposing, material separation, recycling.

Not every product will show all three.Choose relevant evidence
Workshop
Sustainable Product Analysis
L32 · 05
Workshop

Analyse one teacher-provided product or package.

STEP 01

Observe

Identify material, construction, use, and next-life features.

STEP 02

Explain

Choose two features and connect them to resource use or useful life.

STEP 03

Trade-off

Identify one limitation, unknown, or competing priority.

Examples: refillable container, repairable binder, reusable tote, simple modular organizer.Main workshop
Design Inspiration
Borrow the principle, not the whole product
L32 · 06

Which principle could transfer to another design?

make it refillableuse fewer parts design for repairuse reclaimed structure make parts easy to separateextend useful life
This prepares the Second-Life challenge.Principle transfer
Exit Reflection
Sustainable design uses evidence
L32 · 07

Finish one sentence.

“One sustainability principle I could use in a new product is _______ because _______.”

Next lesson

Students launch the Second-Life Product Challenge by defining a useful function, user, and success criteria.

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