Design thinking requires a curious mind to observe and wonder then add in a global pandemic that we have not faced on a similar scale since 1918 feeds even more fuel to curiosity. At the start of my project, I wondered why the pandemic caused a chain reaction in corporations like Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Bulk Barn to indefinitely suspend their refillable programs. These corporations are no longer accepting bring your own containers (BYOC) due to concerns of spreading COVID-19.   As the CDC updates its guideline with new research, we are understanding that the virus is mainly spread through “person to person” contact and you can possibly become infected from touching an object then touching your face, but it’s not the primary way the virus spreads (“How Coronavirus Spreads”, 2020). How can these corporations safely reinstate BYOC programs?  

Exploring the problem statement

  Before COVID-19, consumers and companies were reducing their reliance on single-use plastics. Many companies had incentivized customers to BYOC to coffee shops, banned plastic straws, and stores like Community Natural Foods and Bulk Barn offered BYOC programs. By consumers choosing to supply their own containers, it saves energy, reduces pollution and waste from the landfill meanwhile providing more local jobs for those refilling the containers (Miller, Hacket, & Wolfe, pg. 658). These programs offer many unseen benefits to the environment and local economies.   COVID-19 has caused a significant upheaval for the programs with uncertainty around how the virus transfers on different materials, who is responsible for sanitizing procedures, and what emotional considerations that should be met for consumers and employees to feel safe. To start the process, let’s learn more about the end-user of these BYOC programs.  

Empathize with the end-users

  To understand the root cause of a problem, you must determine the pain points end-users experience in the service delivery (Marks, 2018). The methods used to empathize with end-users included:   1.     Interviewed an acquaintance, Jessica Kuiken on June 6, 2020. I used the 5 Why’s exercise to drill down to the problem’s root cause. The interviewee was provided with three problem statements and worked through answering as seen in Mural’s worksheet below.     2. Research into the end-user to paint a picture of what the average end-user thinks and feels to create a user persona. Highlights from the end-user research as follows:  

• From Statistics Canada in 2015, I reviewed which gender is spending their time doing unpaid work activities in the household (includes meal prep, cleaning, laundry, recycling, etc.). Females complete on average 3.6 hours whereas males 2.4 hours of unpaid work activities (2015).
• BYOC programs are synonymous with the zero-waste movement to reduce residential waste. This movement largely lives online through Instagram, blogs, and podcasts. Anecdotal evidence supports that the movement was created and finds continued support by female engagement (Bird, 2019). The article’s author offers this insight, “In broad strokes, research shows women are traditionally more likely to recycle, change personal habits to help the environment and share ideas on a person-to-person level” (Bird, 2019). For generations, females are more likely to look after the household and use their decision-making power of what to purchase and where from.
• If females are the main end-user for BYOC programs, this article revealed the emotional burden females carry to align with their environmental values. In practicing a zero-waste lifestyle, females carry the responsibility to explain to others why they “…politely refusing straws from confused waiters, declining gifts from family members, and gently explaining their lifestyle in a nonjudgmental way to strangers” (Wicker, 2019). The end-user may carry an emotional burden as they are questioned and forced to explain their value system at many touchpoints throughout the day.
• The majority of preferred shopping has flipped to the online space especially during COVID-19. Many consumers “…have embraced ordering online for goods, services, and food during the COVID-19 pandemic and many likely won’t switch back to their old habits (Senneville, n.d.). The end-user has become more comfortable and confident with buying online and having the convenience of someone else pick it, and pack it.
• Companies flipped to using single-use packaging during COVID-19 because scientists were unsure how the virus spreads. As more research is published, health experts believe transfer happens mainly from person to person. But consumers have been led to the belief that single-use packaging is sterile therefore it’s safer to use. In an interview with Tom Szaky, the founder of TerraCycle explained that,

“Different kinds of disposable packaging have different microbial limits set by independent standard-setting organizations — and unless a product is explicitly marked sterile, none of those limits are zero. That means a certain level of bacterial contamination is considered acceptable and inevitable” (Anderson, 2020).   Part of the end-users persona may believe single-use packaging is inherently safer to use during a pandemic because it’s viewed as sterile. But Szaky’s point, single-use packaging will be likely contaminated at some point in the supply chain so the end-user perception of sterile must be swayed.  

End-user’s persona

  From the research, an end-user theoretical persona in Mural was built to synthesize and assist in identifying the problem statement.  

[Re]defining the problem

  To define the problem, let’s start with capturing the current environment and who needs to be involved to help our theoretical end-user, Janya.  

The current environment

  As we down a pandemic, other big and complex problems like climate change still loom and require our attention. Part of the efforts to slow down climate change has fallen onto the responsibility of the consumer, who is asked to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Single-use packaging like drink containers and food packaging contributes to the 668 kilograms of waste the average Canadian generates each year (“A beginner’s guide to zero-waste grocery stores | CBC Life”, 2019). Consumers and companies are taking action by minimizing their single-use packaging including the rise in zero-waste stores offering household items without packaging or in bulk. And they welcome consumers to BYOC.   Then COVID-19 pandemic hit globally and many companies took swift precautions, some self-imposed and others following local health authorities guidelines. The decision to stop BYOC programs are self-imposed precautions but have left some customers wondering why some companies will accept my cash payment but not my mug (Ackerman, 2020). COVID-19 has highlighted the contrast of companies’ health and safety risk tolerance for their employees and customers. As the virus becomes better understood, companies can begin to brainstorm how to adapt their BYOC programs with new sanitation procedures.     Who needs to be involved   Design thinking asks how to create feelings in the end-users with the products we design (Marks, 2018). In this context, the end-user needs to feel a level of certainty of cleanliness and comfortability. Much of the Covid-19 guidance is coming from our governments and health experts so their expertise is paramount.   Involvement from others includes companies (Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Bulk Barn, etc.), zero-waste community members, governmental body for regulation and inspection, front-line staff and managers, and PPE/sanitation suppliers.   The Problem Statement…   It’s time to define the problem. By using Mural’s Design Thinking Canvas and using the outlined steps in combination with Mural’s 5 Why’s and End-User Persona, the problem statement revealed itself.   Consumers are uncertain and fearful if BYOC programs will further spread Covid-19.   *A copy of the Design Thinking Canvas can be found at the end of the post.   How might we [re]define the problem   ‘How might we’ statements change your viewpoint of the problem and as Kris Hans reminds us, make the problem into an opportunity. With the identified problem above, a company’s approach to how might we…  

• How might we receive government subsidy support for safely operating these programs?
• How might we create a safe customer experience that turns into a repeated practice?
• How might we provide education on the best sanitation practices and PPE to our employees?
• How might we educate and communicate to our customers that builds trust in our program?
• How might we demonstrate our sanitation procedures so they are visible to our customers?
• How might we design with public health as a design priority?
• How might we have public health experts communicate support for BYOC?
• How might we create a pleasurable and welcoming yet sanitary and safe experience for the end-user?
• How might we address the barrier to access to the end-user?
• How might we provide clear communication of the behaviour we want from the end-user?

  I wonder how companies and consumer advocacy groups will address and redesign BYOC programs back to life as we adjust to our new normal.