downcycling implies quality loss the term open-loop recycling denotes a situation where the secondary material is used in a different product system than the original material; it thus comprises both upcycling and downcycling. A detailed discussion on the relation between downcycling, open loop recycling and their environmental impact is provided by Geyer et al. (2015). They write that "Poor product design and EOL management can lead to recycled materials of poor quality, which, in turn, limits the applications these materials can be used in." They also argue that "closed-loop recycling neither intrinsically displaces more primary material owing to multiple loops (quantity argument) nor per se generates higher environmental benefits on a unit basis (quality argument)." The reason for their argument lies in the necessity to include the product system of the target application, in which the recycled material is used or not, into the assessment of overall primary material demand and environmental impact. See also Industrial ecology Backward compatibility Forward compatibility Planned obsolescence Repurposing References Recycling