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Value Direction: Moving Crafts toward Sustainability in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaofang Zhan

    (Imagination Lancaster Design Research Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK)

  • Stuart Walker

    (Imagination Lancaster Design Research Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK)

Abstract

The paper presents ongoing research on craft and design for sustainability in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China. Based on previous research into the relationship between craft and design for sustainability, and literature on value, a typology of five values pertaining to craft is defined. This research investigates values and craft practices in the YRD through identifying the direction of craftwork development in the region and evaluating them against the defined five values. It is found that some crafts in the YRD are commercialized and strongly influenced by cosmopolitanism and consumerism, while some crafts with high intrinsic values are still in decline and need specific interventions. However, these interventions need more context-based consideration and evaluation. What might be regarded as “excessive” intervention in commercial promotion and mass-production could potentially homogenize local crafts, thereby undermining their distinctiveness and their intrinsic values. The aim of this paper is to (a) identify the direction of different craftworks categories in the YRD; and (b) evaluate them with the defined five values in order to inform future design intervention.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaofang Zhan & Stuart Walker, 2018. "Value Direction: Moving Crafts toward Sustainability in the Yangtze River Delta, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1252-:d:142021
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martina Maria Keitsch & Harn Wei Kua & Astrid Skjerven & Ezio Manzini & Mugendi K. M'Rithaa, 2016. "Distributed Systems And Cosmopolitan Localism: An Emerging Design Scenario For Resilient Societies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 275-280, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mohsin Shafi & Liu Junrong & Yongzhong Yang & Deng Jian & Imran UR Rahman & Mahdi Moudi, 2021. "Factors Influencing the Consumer Acceptance of Innovation in Handicraft Products," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, December.
    2. Baosheng Wang & Tie Ji & Renke He, 2023. "Empowerment or Disempowerment: The (Dis)empowering Processes and Outcomes of Co-Designing with Rural Craftspeople," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-28, March.
    3. Wen-Tao Li & Ming-Chyuan Ho & Chun Yang, 2019. "A Design Thinking-Based Study of the Prospect of the Sustainable Development of Traditional Handicrafts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-26, September.
    4. Zhe Liu & Pieter Uyttenhove & Xin Zheng, 2018. "Moving Urban Sculptures towards Sustainability: The Urban Sculpture Planning System in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Mohsin Shafi & Md Nazirul Islam Sarker & Liu Junrong, 2019. "Social Network of Small Creative Firms and Its Effects on Innovation in Developing Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(4), pages 21582440198, December.
    6. Yongzhong Yang & Mohsin Shafi, 2020. "How does customer and supplier cooperation in micro-enterprises affect innovation? Evidence from Pakistani handicraft micro-enterprises," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(5), pages 530-559, November.
    7. Yongzhong Yang & Mohsin Shafi, 0. "How does customer and supplier cooperation in micro-enterprises affect innovation? Evidence from Pakistani handicraft micro-enterprises," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-30.
    8. Zbuchea Alexandra, 2022. "Traditional Crafts. A Literature Review Focused on Sustainable Development," Culture. Society. Economy. Politics, Sciendo, vol. 2(1), pages 10-27, June.
    9. Roy, Subhadip & Mohapatra, Subhalaxmi, 2023. "Exploring the culture–creativity–innovation triad in the handicraft industry using an interpretive approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

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