Design considerations include:

• The Natural Step (Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert)
• Looking to nature for design models (Biomimicry Guild, Janine Benyus)
• Reducing the complexity of the production processes (U.S. EPA, 3-P)
• Incorporating Life Cycle Analysis into the design process (Georgia Institute of Technology)

In an age of instant information, the consumer actively seeks knowledge about how items are produced and what they contain.  Closing the loop on the flow of raw materials and resources that go into making a product and the amount of waste that is generated at the output phase of production and end-of-life of the product is an important consideration for product design.  In the U.S. the estimated material flow ratio of throughput for actual product is approximately 6 percent. That means approximately 94 percent of all non-product related throughput of raw materials, energy and resources used is wasted in the process of making the item.