This paper presents design approaches to induce behavioral shifts toward product sharing through a case study on laundry activities in Japan. Business models involving provision of temporary access to goods are garnering attention as a way to reduce environmental impacts from the current pattern of consumption. However, the success of such business models is a matter of consumer choice, and there exist hurdles for consumers to forego ownership and transfer to product sharing. To understand the forces that affect consumer behavior involving product sharing and to design effective interventions for behavioral shifts, we conducted in-depth interviews and a web survey. From the results, we specified the decision processes in a behavioral shift between home washing and laundromat use, and generated “implementation of a communal laundromat in an apartment building” as a promising way for consumers to shift toward laundromat use. Based on our calculation, the proposed approach has a potential to reduce environmental impact of a hypothetical community by 1.8% in greenhouse gas emissions and 16% in resource use relative to when only home washing is practiced. Our study provides an example of designing interventions for product sharing through reflecting actual usage patterns and consumer motivations.

Abstract:We assessed the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the process for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which are considered to be a valuable sustainable woody biomass feedstock. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with CNF production are greater than the emissions associated with producing most plastic materials used in vehicle components because the grinding process during CNF production generates significant GHG emissions. The cost of CNF production is also higher than the cost of producing comparable plastics for automotive use because of the high cost of the pulverization process. The sensitivity analysis in this study suggested that GHG emissions and manufacturing costs could be reduced by 19.1-76.4% and 3.6-12.2%, respectively, by improving the energy efficiency of CNF production by two to five times. We compared the potential social risks associated with CNF production between Japan and Vietnam using a product social impact life cycle assessment database. It is desirable to reduce the social risk on the fair salary and child labor, and to improve the safe and healthy living conditions in the local communities that import wood chips harvested in Vietnam.

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Utilization of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) as a substitute for plastic resins to reduce the total vehicle weight is under consideration, even though the total amount of plastic resin used is very small compared to steel. This study aims to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission effect of the use of CNF as substitutes of plastic resins as composite materials in vehicles. In order to estimate the reduction of GHG effected, two scenarios were proposed: Business as usual (BAU) and CNF-added (CNFa). The amount of GHG emissions from the part of plastic components in a vehicle were evaluated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA) in the two scenarios. The total GHG emissions in the CNFa scenario declined by about 21.2 per cent compared to the BAU scenario. Although the GHG emissions coefficient of CNF is relatively high compared to plastic resins', the total amount of GHG emissions decreased probably due to reduction in weight of the part of plastic components in a vehicle by replacing plastic resins with CNF.

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