MULTIPLE LIVES OF THE PRODUCTS: AN INVESTIGATION OF PRODUCTS’ JOURNEY IN FREECYCLE COMMUNITY

In today's needs, it is not enough to imagine
products who have only one owner in their entire
lives. To create more sustainable futures, designers
might increase their ability to imagine multiple lives
for things. To enable it, scale is the matter of
concern. By increasing the usage scale, and
examining the exchange of second-hand products
informs designers by imagining multiple scenarios
related to things lifes.
In this paper we focus on local freecycle groups on
Facebook in the context of the second-hand
product’s circulation. In the field research, we
identify significant usage cases of second-hand
products that have multiple owners. We classify
them under four sections, which are student house,
permanent house, families with a baby, and repurposers according to their concerns, criteria and
behaviors related to handed-over products. Finally,
we present insights about users’ expectations and
concerns that has decisive role in determining the
life cycle of the product. We propose thinking for
larger usage scales through examples that we
provide, guide designers and companies in terms of
products' journeys in circulation