Students work with DFS to re-think how we build and buy sofas for sustainability

Your sofa could one day come as a subscription – under a novel business model proposed by students collaborating with sofa company DFS.

Generation Z consumers, who move house frequently and may be starting new families, aren’t usually looking to buy a sofa for life. And modern sofas, while durable enough to significantly outlast their average seven-year ownership, aren’t designed to adapt to these life changes.

“As a designer, you face the question of how to avoid harming the planet. Marco from the Dyson School provided analytical frameworks. By being so open with us, DFS gave us a chance to base our solution on needs, not assumptions." Wigy Ramadan Designer and student on Innovation Design Engineering programme

This means that furniture makers are missing a chance to address a valuable target market, and at worst that relatively new sofas are being sent unnecessarily to landfill.

A cohort of students in Imperial’s Dyson School of Design Engineering have worked with sofa company DFS to design innovative products and business models that could address this and other challenges.

Their concepts include sofas built for disassembly that can be easily transported from one flat to another or returned to the manufacturer and refurbished. They also include modular sofas that could be expanded as families grow, and sofas built using materials and processes that allow them to be easily recycled.

Alongside novel product designs, the students have devised innovative business models that reconcile the needs of consumers, manufacturers, and the environment. Under one proposal, sofas would come as a subscription, enabling consumers to return sofas for re-use while allowing DFS to retain their value and save them from landfill. 

Climate innovation

DFS became involved in the project through its partnership with Undaunted, a hub for the UK’s climate innovation community run by Imperial in partnership with the Royal Institution.

“I’m so impressed with the way you’ve grasped the challenges we’re facing. The solutions you’ve come up with give me so much hope as a sustainability professional,” Kate Wright, Director of Sustainability at DFS, told the students.

DFS provided students on the Innovation Design Engineering MA/MSc programme with insights into its challenges, production processes and business models, while module leader Dr Marco Aurisicchio provided theoretical tools for modelling the flow of resources in a circular economy.

Wigy Ramadhan, an experienced product designer and a student on the programme whose team proposed a subscription model, said: “As a designer, you always face the question of how to avoid making something that could harm the planet. Marco provided analytical frameworks to help us to map out how products are manufactured and supplied."

"We visited the DFS Northern Upholstery factory in Doncaster and they were very open showing us the process and then provided a lot of time for calls and discussions. By being so open with us, DFS gave us a chance to base our solution on real-world needs, not just theoretical assumptions.” 

Real-world complexities

Dr Aurisicchio said: “The project-based learning we offer in the Sustainable Systems module helped students to immerse themselves in the real-world complexities of stakeholder needs, regulatory compliance, risk, environmental and social impact, and economic viability.”

Having worked with students on Innovation Design Engineering for some years, I really know what they can do. The collaboration with DFS shows the capabilities of our incredibly talented students. Dr Marco Aurisicchio Dyson School of Design Engineering

The 15 teams presented their ideas to experts from Imperial and DFS who awarded prizes to the top three teams with the top prize awarded for a sofa made from recyclable aluminium and recycled nylon from fishing nets.

Speaking to the 62 students who took the module, Kate Wright, Director of Sustainability at DFS, said: “I’m so impressed with the way you’ve grasped the complexity of this brief and the challenges we’re facing. The solutions you’ve come up with give me so much hope as a sustainability professional.”

Dr Marco Aurisicchio said: “Having worked with students on Innovation Design Engineering for some years, I really know what they can do. The collaboration with DFS shows the remarkable capabilities of our incredibly talented students, supported by the collaborative and interdisciplinary environment we offer at the Dyson School and the sectoral insights and guidance of forward-thinking business partners like DFS.”

Partnership opportunity

DFS is using corporate membership of climate innovation centre Undaunted to access a range of opportunities, which have also included accessing the university’s executive education programmes.

Addressing climate change requires innovation in all areas of the economy – from energy generation, for example, through to how we build and consume goods like sofas. Alyssa Gilbert Director of Undaunted

Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Undaunted, said: “Addressing climate change requires innovation in all areas of the economy – from energy generation, for example, through to how we build and consume consumer goods like sofas. We’re excited to be working with DFS, who have shown that that they not only make furniture with mass appeal but that they’re open to the creativity and advanced thinking that helps companies stay ahead in their sectors.” 

Corporate membership of Undaunted is facilitated by Imperial Business Partners, a university-wide membership programme that helps businesses access sponsorship opportunities, consultancy services and technology foresight.

The Dyson School of Design Engineering works with companies in a range of sectors to support design-led sustainable innovation through consultancy projects and research partnerships on topics as varied as sustainability strategy development, sustainable business models, environmental impact assessment and sustainable system and product design.

Dr Aurisicchio said: “Design is integral to sustainability as it can directly influence how material resources are used, how products are developed and disposed of and how people interact with them."

Businesses who would like to explore opportunities to work with any part of the university can contact Imperial Enterprise to begin a conversation.

Photos: Marco Da Re