Empowering kids to foster environmental behaviors at home.

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Eco Friends is a line of products that reinforces and promotes environmentally sustainable behaviors with young children.

The purpose: Design a line of products that create experiences in home that encourages children to minimize the negative impact of daily activities on the environment.

The team: Claudia Ruge and Jeff Hsu

My role: Secondary research: Water and electricity consumption, Ethnographic research, home interviews. Analysis and Synthesis, Product Design: Dino & Quack, Prototyping: Dino & Quack, Brand Design: Eco Friends, Visual presentation

Challenging assumptions / Second Thoughts

After the analysis of secondary research data such as statistics; waste of water, electricity, and paper at home, we believed that the environmental behaviors at home were a parent's concern. However, after doing in-home interviews we discovered that this wasn't a concern at all: the income level and the geographic location of the targeted user allowed them to take these resources for granted. According to the children’s school curriculums, the kids are exposed to concepts such as the 3 r's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Although, parents were aware that their kids had access to environmental education from an early age, these concepts were not put in practice or enforced at home; there was a lack of interest and need. We worked to restructure these ideas in a different way; we noticed their enthusiasm when they realized that by saving time during the shower would not just save water, but also make their kids get ready for school faster. That was something of great value by the parents. They also felt interest on using the idea of conserving electricity as a way to encourage their kids to be organized and to build routines for waking up, and going to bed.

Claudia Ruge