Karin Aasa
Transitioning to a circular economy requires fundamental changes in everyday consumption practices. While households play a central role in extending product lifetimes through reuse and recirculation, circular consumption remains difficult to embed in daily life. This PhD project investigates how design can support a transition towards circular consumption practices in households’ everyday life.
Adopting a systems perspective, the research conceptualises the household as a complex socio-material system in which products move through interconnected phases of acquisition, use, storage, and divestment. Drawing on multiple empirical studies, the findings identify systemic frictions across these phases. These dynamics are further shaped by misalignments between household practices and existing circular infrastructures. Building on this understanding, the project explores how design can intervene in household consumption systems. Through a research-through-design approach, insights are articulated as design strategies and intervention opportunities targeting both individual practices and the relations between households, infrastructures, and circular actors.
The paper outlines the positioning, methodology, and preliminary findings of the PhD project and raises questions regarding how to synthesise empirically grounded insights into systemic design knowledge and intervention strategies.
Keywords: Circular consumption, recirculation, households, systems thinking, design strategies