Integrating environmental assessment into early-stage wearable electronics research

Abstract

This perspective explores the intersection between technology research and environmental assessment during the early-stage development of next-generation wearable electronics, encompassing flexible, stretchable, soft, transient, printed, and hybrid electronics. While significant advancements have been made in the development of high-performance materials, fabrication processes, and device engineering for wearables, their environmental performance is often overlooked. Even when environmental claims for new materials or processes are stated, they are often made without any quantifiable justification. This perspective critically analyses current approaches at assessing environmental performance during the early research stage and recommends how and when to integrate an environmental assessment to ensure both high device functionality and environmental performance. The timeliness of this perspective arises from the urgent need to address environmental concerns in the rapidly expanding wearable electronics research field and commercial use, which is projected to grow exponentially in the coming decade. Research in wearable electronics is multidisciplinary, involving material science, chemistry, physics, biology, electrical engineering, medicine and neuroscience. This perspective recommends timely integration of relevant environmental assessment efforts, including life cycle assessment, into this multidisciplinary mix, thereby ensuring that next-generation wearable electronics are aligned with sustainable development policies and regulatory systems.