Functional requirements, for a product to function well, chosen material should have appropriate properties
Properties affecting functional requirements include; appearance, hardness, toughness, density, strength, elasticity, fire resistance, electrical conductivity
Economic factors, cost of material, cheapest material may not be the best choice as they may be more costly in the long run if they do not last. Time, if a material takes too long to process, overall production cost may be higher.
Production methods, ease of working with a material, facilities available, skills and process knowledge
Availability, available in terms of size, shapes, and forms, working with available materials reduces the amount of cutting needed and also reduces unnecessary wastage of material
Environmental considerations, create environmentally- friendly products using environmentally-friendly materials and production processes, minimal environmental damage by reducing air pollution, acid rain, greenhouse effect and thinning of ozone layer