In this thesis the opportunities for designing products that are less resource intensive during use, in different cultural contexts is investigated. The research was divided into four phases: an extensive literature review, an online scoping study, an intensive qualitative study on laundry behaviours, and an international design competition. The research drew on the background of design for sustainable behaviour, a relatively new field of enquiry concerned with reducing the social and environmental impacts of products during their use. Despite the increasing development of theories to change user behaviour through design, there is a lack of understanding of how different cultural contexts affect behaviour. An extensive literature review established the current thinking on culture, development, and behaviour. The diverse nature of everyday household behaviour from different cultures and the effect it has on household resource consumption was uncovered and was investigated further in an online scoping study. In the study, participants from the UK, Brazil and India answered questions related to the themes of food, water, energy, materials and government schemes. The findings helped to highlight the differences in household behaviours and led to more detailed investigation of laundry behaviours in three sites in the UK, Brazil and India using in-context interviews, observations and household tours. From these findings a series of culturally significant and culturally independent factors were established that can aid designers in understanding behaviours in a given context. A set of design guidelines were also created to facilitate the design of less resource intensive products during use. These were then tested with designers in an international design competition answering a brief to design a less resource intensive laundry process. The research suggested a range of benefits for designers studying other cultures. The guidelines and cultural factors created can help designers to build empathy with users in a given context and boost creative thinking for more sustainable solutions. The research also offered insights into the possibility of, and application for, transferring behaviours between contexts as well as a new understanding of the aspirations of consumers in emerging markets, which could support other theories of sustainable development, such as leapfrogging.

El Perú cuenta con resultados económicos positivos en los últimos años, inclusive mayores al promedio de la región. Una de las consecuencias del crecimiento económico del país es el incremento del consumo. Además, resalta el hecho de que los niveles socioeconómicos medios se encuentran muy dedicados al hogar, realizando más compras de artículos de primera necesidad, de cuidado personal y de limpieza, asegurándose de obtener la mejor calidad. Debido a este ambiente favorable, se decidió realizar un plan de introducción de detergente líquido al mercado peruano. El producto se ofrecerá a un mercado en constante desarrollo y con alto potencial de crecimiento: al NSE C y D. La rivalidad entre los competidores es considerable y el mercado se limita a pocas empresas con mucha participación. Sin embargo, la categoría es tan grande que se espera encontrar un espacio dentro de un mercado que está todavía en crecimiento sobre el cual desarrollar el producto, esto con una oferta volumen/precio satisfactoria y debidamente difundida mediante actividades promocionales. Esta introducción del producto será por medio de la importación, contando con una operación pequeña que sea eficiente y que sus actividades se apoyen con el uso de la tecnología. Este plan de introducción tendrá como orientación preliminar la penetración del producto en el mercado. Esto permite tener cierta rapidez en las decisiones, que serán necesarias si es que se quiere lograr un impacto y captar a los potenciales compradores con la estrategia de introducción. / Peru has had positive results in recent years, even over the regional average. One of the consequences of economic growth is the consumption increasing. Also, it´s important to emphasize that middle class socioeconomic levels are very dedicated to home; so, they are shopping more staple, personal care products as well as for cleaning. Middle class wants to be sure about getting best quality. Due to this favorable environment, it was decided to make a plan for introducing the liquid detergent to the Peruvian market. The product will be offered for a market in constant development and with high potential: to C and D socioeconomic level. Rivalry between the competitors is hard, so, the market is limited to a few companies with a large market share for each one. However, the product category is so large that it´s expected to find inside this a place for developing the product; all of these, taking advantage about a market that is still growing. This will be done with a satisfactory volume / price offer and it'll be disseminated through promotional activities. The product introduction will be done by imports, making a small operation which is efficient and whose activities are supported with use of technology. This introduction plan will have, as a preliminary orientation, the penetration of the product in the market. This allows to have the require speed in the taking of decisions, the ones will be used to make an impact and to get potential buyers with strategy of introduction. / Trabajo de investigación

Doctoral thesis deals with professional laundry care process and reduction of energy intensity and use of other operational commodities used in the process. Professional laundry care process is a specific energy intensive process; its purpose is to re-establish original properties of the now dirty laundry so that it may fulfil its functions again. This is basically a recycling and regeneration process comprising many sub-operations. Key operation is washing of the laundry in a washing bath, which removes impurities from the laundry. This thesis describes the most common technology of impurities removal, which is washing in a hot washing bath in cooperation with mechanical work and detergents. However, all of the described procedures may also be applied on alternative technologies, such as ozone washing, washing with low-temperature enzymes and ultrasound. Water is applied in all these technologies as a soaking agent. Water must have appropriate properties and must be removed from the laundry after the washing process in subsequent operations (drying, ironing, and pressing). Theoretical introduction of the thesis describes professional laundry care process in detail, and continues with mathematical modelling of the process and its main sub-operations (washing, drying) using mass and heat balance, and data acquisition and their application in research and development. Thesis further describes design of information system on the basis of relational database controlled by web application. This system enables to organize data and information from various sources – measured experimental data, data concerning measurement devices, operational records of machines, etc. Thesis further proposes how to evaluate and reduce energy intensity of a process. Descriptions are validated by examples and case studies. Key section of the thesis is a chapter describing experimental infrastructure. This infrastructure integrates several instalments of laundry equipment and is a fully functional operation of industrial laundry facility with 500kg/shift capacity, which serves as a model of energy intensive process. Sophisticated infrastructure and data acquisition system allows measuring wide spectrum of physical entities and examining factors influencing energy intensity of processes, and relationships between these factors as well as effectiveness of various savings measures in real life facilities.