How Biomimicry Enables Sustainable Product Design

What makes a product sustainable? Sustainability is a word that gets thrown around like compost at a community garden... well-intentioned, but messy.

Here's our definition of sustainable products for this article: Sustainable products meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

A sustainable product is made from renewable or responsibly sourced materials, uses minimal energy and water throughout its life cycle, and produces little to no toxic waste. In other words, its production can continue over time without exhausting resources - unlike non-sustainable processes, which rely on inputs that will eventually run out. 

So, where (exactly) does biomimicry fit in? Well, if we design like nature, we'll have products that can close the loop, can biodegrade or be recycled, and are less or not toxic at all. In this article, we’ll explore how biomimicry offers a pathway for creating eco-friendly products by using nature’s strategies.

Let's dive into how this works, and look at relevant examples of biomimicry in sustainable product design. 

1. Nature fits form to function

Nature's solutions are simple (simple... not easy).

“Nature fits form to function” is one of the key principles of biomimicry and it means that:

In nature, the shape (form) of something is perfectly suited to the job (function) it needs to perform.

This principle reflects how evolution has refined organisms, structures, and systems over millions of years to be as effective and efficient as possible. There's no excess and little waste - everything has a purpose.

When designing products or systems, looking at how nature fits form to function helps us solve design challenges in ways that are elegant, efficient, and sustainable. Instead of forcing a solution, we can ask: “What shape or structure does nature use to solve this problem?”

Example: Lotus leaves inspiring self-cleaning surfaces.

Amphico mimics the microstructures of lotus leaves and other organisms to create waterproof, breathable, and completely recyclable textiles. It’s designed without harmful PFAS chemicals, replicating water-repelling mechanisms found in nature. 

📦 Product: Textiles 
🪷 Inspired by: Liquid-repellant surfaces found in nature
📍 Where: UK
✏️ Who: Amphico 

2. Nature designs with Material Efficiency & Circularity

Nature builds with what’s available locally, often using abundant, biodegradable, or recyclable materials. Biomimicry encourages designers to minimize harmful inputs and create products that can return safely to nature or be reused.

Sustainable Product Design Example: Spider silk inspiring low-energy material innovation.

Spintex develops fibres at room temperature, just by pulling from a liquid protein gel and without using harsh chemicals. The fibres are high-performance and also completely biodegradable.

📦 Product: Fibers
🕸️ Inspired by: Spiderwebs
📍 Where: UK
✏️ Who: Spintex

3. Nature is all about Green Chemistry 

Nature uses chemistry in incredibly sophisticated and efficient ways to build, transform, and sustain life. Natural systems don't need the excessively high temperatures to do chemistry that humans often use. It works at ambient temperature and pressure, and doesn't create toxic byproducts. 

Sustainable Product Design Example: Non-toxic white pigments inspired by beetles

Impossible Materials studied the Super-white Cyphochilus beetle to mimic the nano-structure inside the beetle’s skin, which reflects only white light. They then replicated it inside a cellulose molecule chain to produce a non-toxic pigment to achieve the colour white. 

📦 Product: Natural white pigment  
🪲 Inspired by: Cyphochilus beetle
📍 Where: Cambridge, UK
✏️ Who: Impossible Materials 

Sustainable Product Design Example: Soliome

Soliome developed a transparent, UV-blocking sunscreen inspired by the DNA-repair mechanisms found in the human eye. It mimics how our eyes protect themselves from UV damage, offering non-toxic sun protection.

📦 Product: Soliome's Environmentally friendly sunscreen
👀 Inspired by: Eyes
📍 Where: USA
✏️ Who: Soliome

4. Nature Thinks in Systems (Systems Thinking that is)

Biomimicry teaches designers to think in systems, not silos. It encourages integrating a product into a larger ecological or industrial system to ensure regeneration, resilience, and feedback loops. All materials used in nature are continuously cycled back into the environment without harm as part of a bigger system.

Example: The Surpluss (founded by Rana - an alumni of ours, and Biomimicry Practitioner)

A screenshot from The Surpluss - the world's first B2B platform for surplus resource sharing. The Surpluss helps businesses to reduce waste and save costs by identifying unused resources within your business and finding new homes for them.

📦 Service: Reduces waste and save costs by identifying unused resources within businesses
👀 Inspired by: Nature - nature recycles everything and rewards cooperation
📍 Where: Dubai, UAE
✏️ Who: The Surpluss

5. Nature Uses (Only) Readily Available Materials

Nature uses abundant, renewable materials to build complex structures and systems without depleting its surroundings. It sources locally and regeneratively, ensuring that materials are used within the limits of what ecosystems can replenish. Biomimicry helps create products that function like living systems by also utilising readily available materials and energy. 

Example: Building materials inspired by mycelium.

📦 Product: Biocomposites & Insulation
🍄 Inspired by: Mycelium
📍 Where: UK
✏️ Who: Biohm

Interested in more? Read: Chemical-Free Surface Technology Inspired by Nature

Why Sustainable Product Design Matters Now

We all know the bad news. 

Global material consumption has more than tripled since 1970, leading to an ever-increasing demand on natural resources.

This cannot continue, and designers and consumers know that mounting climate risks, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity mean they must move beyond incremental “green tweaks” toward systemic innovation. 

From 2000 to 2022, our global material footprint saw a 71% increase (from ~57 billion to ~98 billion tonnes), while domestic consumption grew from ~56.6 billion to ~96 billion tonnes, according to the United Nations. This surge contributes significantly to carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Consumer behavior, particularly overconsumption and short-lived product lifespan, are outpacing recycling and sustainable design practices. This creates a vicious cycle: rising demand pushes more raw material extraction, generating waste and pollution that current recycling systems cannot manage.

Nearly half of the world's plastic is simply landfilled, meaning it gets dumped with nowhere to go (but our oceans and land), taking years to decompose (if ever). Credit: OECD via Visual Capitalist.

Now for the good news. 

As regulations tighten worldwide and consumer expectations evolve, companies that embed sustainability at the heart of product development will gain competitive advantage and help preserve the planet’s life-support systems. By designing with nature in mind, we can create products that are not only efficient and ethical but also regenerative and resilient for future generations.

In short, biomimicry helps create sustainable products by:

• Using efficient forms and functions found in nature.
• Encouraging local and circular resource use.
• Minimizing energy consumption and emissions.
• Fostering lifespan extension and adaptability.
• Promoting regenerative impact instead of just minimizing harm.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between sustainable design and biomimicry?

Sustainable design is an overarching approach that seeks to minimize negative environmental and social impacts across a product’s life cycle. It focuses on using renewable materials, reducing energy and water use, and designing for repair or recycling. 

Biomimicry is a specific method within sustainable design that looks to natural models, systems, and processes as direct inspiration. While sustainable design asks “How do we use fewer resources?” biomimicry asks “How does nature solve this challenge?” and then translates those strategies into technology.

Which resources can I use to start learning about biomimicry?

• Learn Biomimicry: We offer online, self-paced biomimicry short courses, as well as advanced mentored programs including the Biomimicry Practitioner Program and the Biomimicry Educator Program. We've also got a number of examples of biomimicry applied to product design here, done by Biomimicry Practitioner members. 
  
• AskNature: A searchable catalog of nature’s design solutions with summaries, illustrations, and references for further reading.
  
• TED Talks and YouTube: Presentations by leading biomimics (like Janine Benyus) provide an engaging introduction to core concepts.
  
• Webinars: The Biomimicry Institute periodically offer free online lectures covering fundamentals and applications. 

These starting points will help you gain practical insights, explore real-world examples, and begin applying biomimicry principles in your own design work. You can also find the Top Biomimicry Courses for 2025 here.

In Summary

Combining sustainable product design with biomimicry unlocks a powerful synergy. 

One plus one can equal three. 

By grounding innovation in nature’s time-tested strategies, designers can create products that use fewer resources, generate less waste, and adapt gracefully to changing conditions. Biomimicry brings resilience and efficiency into every phase of development, from material selection to end-of-life reuse.

Nature offers a library of ingenious solutions waiting to be translated into human technologies. Whether it’s lightweight structures inspired by bird bones or self-healing surfaces modeled on skin, these examples remind us that true sustainability is achieved when we align our designs with ecological principles.

As you embark on your next project, consider how you might tap into the patterns, processes, and practices of the natural world. By doing so, you’ll not only reduce environmental impact but also join the forefront of eco-innovation.

Biomimicry is a versatile lens that can inform the design of virtually any product or system, from textiles and packaging to architecture and electronics.