Despite the recognition that the adoption of the circular economy depends on aligning the new product development process with the principles of circularity, there are still few studies on the barriers to circular product design. This article aims to contribute to this topic by developing an exploratory study to identify and analyze these barriers in the Brazilian context. In addition to a theoretical analysis, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was utilized to evaluate the significance of various hindrances and obstacles to circular product design. To gain a better understanding of these barriers, semi‐structured interviews were also conducted. Experts in areas such as sustainability, marketing, and R&D from companies that develop products participated in this research. The results of the study reveal that the difficulties supply chains have in providing circular economy‐based products and reverse logistics systems are among the main barriers. Challenges such as low consumer valorization of these products and a lack of knowledge and technologies were also identified as relevant. By investigating a set of barriers to circular product design, this study extends knowledge about the difficulties companies face in the transition to circular business models.

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循环产品设计挑战：关键障碍的探索性研究

尽管人们认识到循环经济的采用取决于新产品开发过程与循环原则的结合，但对循环产品设计障碍的研究仍然很少。本文旨在通过开展一项探索性研究来识别和分析巴西背景下的这些障碍，从而为这一主题做出贡献。除了理论分析之外，还利用模糊层次分析法来评估循环产品设计中各种障碍和障碍的重要性。为了更好地了解这些障碍，还进行了半结构化访谈。来自产品开发公司的可持续发展、营销和研发等领域的专家参与了这项研究。研究结果表明，供应链在提供循环经济产品和逆向物流系统方面遇到的困难是主要障碍之一。消费者对这些产品的评价较低以及缺乏知识和技术等挑战也被认为是相关的。通过调查循环产品设计的一系列障碍，本研究扩展了对公司在向循环商业模式转型过程中面临的困难的了解。