Bonaveri Magazine

The aim of Life Cycle Design is to reduce the
resources and emissions used throughout all
the stages of product lifecycle (pre-production,
production, distribution, use and disposal) in
relation to the functional unit.
The LCA has highlighted two aspects of the life
cycle of mannequins:
the material of origin that mannequins are
made from and end of life of mannequins
Having quantitative and qualitative data
capable of indicating the factors responsible
for the environmental impact allowed Bonaveri
to define the strategies capable of reducing
such impact. And so they initiated the research
project for the discovery of a natural material,
both renewable and biodegradable.
the environmental impact through carefully selecting
sustainable raw materials, so that in any scenario of
disposal (incineration, landfill, recycling), the result
would have virtually no environmental impact.
With regard to researching alternative innovative
materials to use as opposed to plastics from fossil
fuels, Bonaveri benefited from the scientific and
technical consultation from and collaboration with
a European institution specialized in the research
for new materials. This exciting initiative verified the
compatibility of the production processes of the
The aim of Life Cycle
Design is to reduce
the resources and
emissions used
throughout all the
stages of product
lifecycle
Why select the approach of biopolymer rather
than taking a recycling approach?
Bonaveri mannequin products are sold across
five continents. Each country has adopted their
own regulation in the collection and disposal of
waste, each customer has policies that cannot
all be standardized.
It cannot be guaranteed that all products are
recycled or disposed properly at the end their
life, 15 years after purchase. In order to address
this challenge, Bonaveri thought out to reduce
mannequins with the technical characteristics of
the most advanced and state of the art biopolymers
available.
To date, the production of the mannequins is
performed through extrusion blow moulding of
plastics. Specifically, the mannequins are produced
in polystyrene (HIPS) or polystyrene-butadiene
copolymer (SBC) through the blow-moulding process,
after which the same polymer exits from an extruder
into a tubular shape and is partially shaped by hand
by a qualified technician.
In order to substitute conventional plastic materials,
Bonaveri turned to using materials that were either
completely or mostly derived from renewable resources
and able to be processed by extrusion and blow
moulding, as well as being completely biodegradable
at the end of their life cycle.
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