What else could it be?
The Alternatives criterion examines whether the function your product provides could be delivered with less material, through a service model, or by a fundamentally different approach with a lower environmental footprint.
A strong answer demonstrates that the designer has genuinely considered alternative approaches (product-service systems, shared or rental models, digital substitutes, or radically different material configurations) before committing to the chosen form. It shows that the current form is chosen because it is the best solution to the problem, not simply the most obvious one. A weak answer assumes the conventional product form without questioning whether the underlying function could be served more efficiently another way.
This criterion is a prompt for systemic thinking: sometimes the most sustainable product is no product at all, or a service that delivers the same outcome with a fraction of the physical resource. Asking the alternatives question early, before the design is fixed, is the moment when the most radical and valuable answers become possible.
