Creating a Circular Economy by Anthropomorphic Product Design

Abstract

In the face of escalating environmental issues and increasing consumers’ awareness, some companies put efforts towards creating a circular economy. However, insufficient consumer participation and cooperation in pro-environmental behaviour impede the creation of a circular economy. In order to deal with this problem, this article focuses on consumer behaviours and sheds light on a promising approach: anthropomorphic product design. This perspective article explains three principles of a circular economy and summarizes them in the circular economy triangle framework. Additionally, this article explores anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic marketing, anthropomorphic product designs and the relationship between anthropomorphism and pro-environmental behaviours from interdisciplinary perspectives including psychology, communication studies and marketing. Subsequently, this article explains how anthropomorphic product design helps the creation of a circular economy based on circular economic principles. Specifically, this article describes how anthropomorphic product design induces consumers to use products longer and to recycle them. Then, this article provides practical advice to derive a circular economy with anthropomorphic product designs based on schema congruity theory, construal level theory and empathy. The final section includes a summary of this article, limitations and the areas of future research. This article should contribute to the creation of a circular economy by improving the effectiveness of companies’ circular economy efforts such as waste reduction, efficient management of resources and energy consumption.