Environmental quality is an increasingly discussed topic, being a global and urgent issue. Among the environmental problems, it is highlighted in this study the great generation of solid waste, especially associated with the footwear production, which is an important sector of the Brazilian economy. In this context, design is considered a potential tool to minimize the negative environmental impacts of this sector. Thus, this research aims to analyze the development and production of shoes from the sustainable design perspective to reduce the leather waste generation. Thus, a case study in a footwear company situated in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is presented. Data was collected from in loco visit, observation and interviews. Subsequently a content analysis relating the collected data and the theoretical framework is presented. Results demonstrate that the application of concepts and strategies from sustainable design in the development and production of footwear, in the studied company, generated satisfactory results in terms of minimizing leather waste without losing competitiveness.
Abstract. Mechanical recycling of polymeric materials is a favorable technique resulting in economic and environmental benefits, especially in the case of polymers with a high production volume as the polypropylene copolymer (PP). However, recycling by reprocessing techniques can lead to thermal, mechanical or thermo-oxidative degradation that can affect the structure of the polymer and subsequently the material properties. PP filled with montmorillonite (MMT) or talc are widely produced and studied, however, its degradation reactions by reprocessing cycles are poorly studied so far. In this study, the effects of reprocessing cycles in the structure and in the properties of the PP/MMT and PP/Talc were evaluated. The samples were mixed with 5% talc or MMT Cloisite C15A in a twin-screw extrusion. After extrusion, this filled material was submitted to five reprocessing cycles through an injection molding process. In order to evaluate the changes induced by reprocessing techniques, the samples were characterized by DSC, FT-IR, Izod impact and tensile strength tests. The study showed that Young modulus, elongation at brake and Izod impact were not affected by reprocessing cycles, except when using talc. In this case, the elongation at brake reduced until the fourth cycle, showing rigidity increase. The DSC results showed that melting and crystallization temperature were not affected. A comparison of FT-IR spectra of the reprocessed indicated that in both samples, between the first and the fifth cycle, no noticeable change has occurred. Thus, there is no evidence of thermo oxidative degradation. In general, these results suggest that PP reprocessing cycles using MMT or talc does not change the material properties until the fifth cycle.
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