What makes a product sustainable? Sustainability is a word that gets thrown around like compost at a community garden… well-intentioned, but messy.
Here’s our definition of sustainable products for this article: Sustainable products meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
A sustainable product is made from renewable or responsibly sourced materials, uses minimal energy and water throughout its life cycle, and produces little to no toxic waste. In other words, its production can continue over time without exhausting resources – unlike non-sustainable processes, which rely on inputs that will eventually run out.
So, where (exactly) does biomimicry fit in? Well, if we design like nature, we’ll have products that can close the loop, can biodegrade or be recycled, and are less or not toxic at all. In this article, we’ll explore how biomimicry offers a pathway for creating eco-friendly products by using nature’s strategies.
Let’s dive into how this works, and look at relevant examples of biomimicry in sustainable product design.
1. Nature fits form to function
Nature’s solutions are simple (simple… not easy).
“Nature fits form to function” is one of the key principles of biomimicry and it means that: In nature, the shape (form) of something is perfectly suited to the job (function) it needs to perform.
This principle reflects how evolution has refined organisms, structures, and systems over millions of years to be as effective and efficient as possible. There’s no excess and little waste – everything has a purpose.
When designing products or systems, looking at how nature fits form to function helps us solve design challenges in ways that are elegant, efficient, and sustainable. Instead of forcing a solution, we can ask: “What shape or structure does nature use to solve this problem?”
Example: Lotus leaves inspiring self-cleaning surfaces.
Amphico mimics the microstructures of lotus leaves and other organisms to create waterproof, breathable, and completely recyclable textiles. It’s designed without harmful PFAS chemicals, replicating water-repelling mechanisms found in nature.
📦 Product: Textiles
🪷 Inspired by: Liquid-repellant surfaces found in nature
📍 Where: UK
✏️Who: Amphico
2. Nature designs with Material Efficiency & Circularity
Nature builds with what’s available locally, often using abundant, biodegradable, or recyclable materials. Biomimicry encourages designers to minimize harmful inputs and create products that can return safely to nature or be reused.
Sustainable Product Design Example: Spider silk inspiring low-energy material innovation.
Spintex develops fibres at room temperature, just by pulling from a liquid protein gel and without using harsh chemicals. The fibres are high-performance and also completely biodegradable.
📦 Product: Fibers
🕸️ Inspired by: Spiderwebs
📍 Where: UK
✏️ Who: Spintex
3. Nature is all about Green Chemistry
Nature uses chemistry in incredibly sophisticated and efficient ways to build, transform, and sustain life. Natural systems don’t need the excessively high temperatures to do chemistry that humans often use. It works at ambient temperature and pressure, and doesn’t create toxic byproducts.
Sustainable Product Design Example: Non-toxic white pigments inspired by beetles
Impossible Materials studied the Super-white Cyphochilus beetle to mimic the nano-structure inside the beetle’s skin, which reflects only white light. They then replicated it inside a cellulose molecule chain to produce a non-toxic pigment to achieve the colour white.
📦 Product: Natural white pigment
🪲 Inspired by: Cyphochilus beetle
📍 Where: Cambridge, UK
✏️ Who: Impossible Materials
4. Nature Thinks in Systems (Systems Thinking that is)
See more key ways that biomimicry enables sustainable design, statistics showing why sustainable products matter now more than ever and how to get started on learning biomimicry for product design… in the full article here.
PS: Which resources can I use to start learning about biomimicry?
- Learn Biomimicry: We offer online, self-paced biomimicry short courses, as well as advanced mentored programs including the Biomimicry Practitioner Program and the Biomimicry Educator Program.
- If you’re interested in applying biomimicry, but not ready for an advanced programme, the Biomimicry Sprints could be a great launchpad for you. This 4-week mentored course is a fast way to explore different biomimicry applications, and lets you walk away with at least 6 structured biomimicry project ideas (powered and accelerated by AI).
Read more about Biomimicry:
