EFA European Fashion Report 2024
The Sustainable Design and Materials Lab (DiMa) is a research centre at the Estonian Academy of Arts that links research and teaching with sustainable product development and design practice, bringing together students, researchers, practitioners and companies. DiMa is engaged in circular economy and circular product and service development, material design and research, building on EKA's previous research and teaching experience in this field.
DiMa's research areas
DiMa is a fusion of two research areas that are closely interconnected – circular design and materials design. The role of circular design is to create innovative solutions for products and services, emphasizing the responsible use of natural resources, reducing waste and development of new innovative business models.
A key goal in circular design is to seek sustainable alternatives for products and materials to increase the responsible use of existing resources, supporting the transition to environmentally safe technologies and materials and to ensure that when the products break down after their service life, they do not pollute the environment.
The circular design research area is led by Reet Aus, PhD.The design and development of biological and sustainable materials is an important part of fulfilling these goals. EU regulations make it critical to view the materials in the context of the circular economy. Technologies that make the recycling of materials, raw materials and waste more efficient are a particularly focus at DiMa’s materials lab.
The bio-based materials research area is chaired by Kärt Ojavee, PhD.
