A Critique of The Environmental Green Concept in the view of representative issues for products -Usage, Aesthetics in product design, Manufacturing, and Products' price-

In product manufacturing industries, a recent issue is the green concept. The green concept is a complicated area. If the green concept is for products, its serious issues have to be criticized. Although the importance of the green concept has overflowed, its influences have not been disputed vigorously. So this study is to critic the serious issues of the green concept in aesthetics in product design, manufacturing, and products' prices. The green environment has four representative elements: systems, policies, minds, and technologies, but they are not in the field of design. An element of the green concept, green design is also a sub concept for design, so it should be based on aesthetics. It is green aesthetics. But since green design first appeared, it has never approached by aesthetics because it has mostly had social meanings and expectations. So for green aesthetics, to think about what makes a product, and what can be aesthetic issues among them are important. Products consist of form, structure, material, and technology. Form means different shapes in a structure, but there cannot be any specific directions for a green concept. Structure has two kinds: interior and exterior structure. While interior structure has a technological character, exterior structure is deeply related with aesthetics, but it has also no chance for green concept. Material can be divided as two also: aesthetic and technological. Aesthetics materials mean the colors, opacity, and tactile sense of materials, but they are not aesthetic issues. Technological materials are recycled materials or non-recycled materials. Even if recycled materials are used today, they are close to systems or policies rather than aesthetics. With this result, green aesthetics is a very difficult concept. Second, green products are usually 30% more expensive than general products. But every consumer has his or her own economical conditions, and nobody can coerce consumers into buying expensive green products for green environments. And green products without good quality cannot satisfy consumers. This means that green concept is not accomplished by just manufacturing green products. Third, although a lot of proposals have appeared as green design in exhibitions, most of them are close to craft because they are so hard to be manufactured. Manufacturing is the first consideration for products. These three issues are enough to explain why green concept is complicated in manufacturing products. If they are not solved, the green concept is just a fiction. So if this study proposes a turning point against blind green-oriented atmosphere, it will be meaningful enough.