ABSTRACT
To understand why, in the early years of the 21st century, sustainable development has become generally and positively recognized by governments, business and society as a whole, we need to take a look at its emergence as an idea. In this chapter, I provide a brief overview of some of the key historical events that ultimately led to our current notions of ‘sustainable development’ and ‘sustainability’, 1 and consider what might be seen as a subset of these concepts, namely ‘sustainable product design’. I also suggest that sustainable development can be understood as an important, but nevertheless limited, mythic story that attempts to give meaning to some of our principal modern-day uncertainties.
