Read the Instructions!

Read the Instructions!

When you buy a new product for your home, it typically comes with all kinds of paperwork. Warranty information, warnings, and assembly instructions are just a few examples of the literature that can be involved in such a purchase. What if there was a more useful piece of paper in that stack? One that tells you exactly what your new product is made of, and a diagram showing you what parts are made of what materials. This way, when you are through with the product, you can easily separate the product down into easily recyclable parts.

This idea is based on the concept discussed in the Cradle 2 Cradle reading that we need to keep biological nutrients separate from technical nutrients. Biological nutrients are those that can become food for the earth. This includes biodegradable products. Technical nutrients are those that are valuable in becoming “food” in the technical cycle (or metabolism). Metals, plastics and chemicals are some examples of technical nutrients. When we mix biological and technical nutrients, we make it impossible to use them past a single use of a product. One we combine these materials, we cannot separate them back out and upcycle them into more products or use them as fertilizer for the earth.

Steelcase is a company that has really been incorporating Cradle 2 Cradle in its product development. For example, the Think chair is up to 98% recyclable and made of up to 37% recycled materials according to the Steelcase Think product brochure. In addition to being highly recyclable, Steelcase has designed the Think chair to be very easily dismantled using ordinary tools. This allows for a quick and easy recycling process after a consumer is through using the chair. Another aspect of Cradle 2 Cradle that Steelcase Is implementing is the use of high quality environmentally responsible textile products. They worked with Rhoener, as discussed in the video, to develop a product with a closed-loop life-cycle. This means that the product does not produce waste. It produces more food and nutrients that can be biodegraded and the production process also eliminates hazardous toxic waste as well, leaving water supplies as clean or cleaner than before the processing.

Recycling can be an intimidating procedure for many people. What plastics go where, colored glass is separated from clear glass and certain metals get separated from other metals. All these ”rules” for recycling can be so daunting that people decide to pass up the whole concept and opt to just toss things in the trash. In order to make the recycling process as easy as possible for consumers, easily dismantled products along with a diagram showing the materials make-up of the product will help guide consumers in the process and make them feel as though they know exactly what they are doing when it comes to contributing to the upcycling of their products.

Think Chair Brochure:
http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/seating/task/think/documents/think_brochure.pdf

From Rags to Quilts

From Rags to Quilts

Our society is becoming very individualistic. People love personalization. There are companies out there that customize just about anything you can think of! The quality of distinctiveness is also a mentioned in the “Local and Light” reading this week. It suggests that people want products that are meaningful and diverse. In order to appeal to the nostalgic side of our culture, I am suggesting a program that lets you transform old keepsake textiles into quilts and blankets. Last week, I focused mainly on a large-scale solution, applicable to businesses of pretty much any discipline. This week, I am zoning in and suggesting a smaller-scale concept.

This system allows people to re-use their own items, such as concert t-shirts, baby clothes, or other keepsake products, and turn them into functional items for their home. Companies like “Shutterfly” allow people to upload tons of pictures and organize them into books or collages. This program would work similarly to that. People could send in a box of items to be re-used and the company would organize them into a quilt pattern and return it (in the same shipping box used to send them in) as a blanket. As mentioned in the “Sustainability” reading, our culture is seeing a revitalization of craft skills. “Pinterest” is a prime example of this! For people who are crafty themselves, the program could be available online. You could upload images of the items and it would produce a pattern for you to follow when making your quilt.

This concept incorporates “Use Waste as a Resource” by taking apparel items that might go to waste and transforming them into functional interior products for your home. It also uses the principle of “Optimize Rather than Maximize” by preventing people from buying blankets when they already have raw materials that can be turned into blankets. This allows them to make the most of resources they already have instead of using additional resources.

Redefining Profits

Redefining Profits

Money has become the cornerstone to our society; everything revolves around it. We work to make money so that we can buy things. Companies make things so that they can sell them for financial profit. Unfortunately, the environment has suffered at the hands of financial gain. When companies put all of their efforts into maximizing profits, they tend to overlook the greater losses that occur due to their processes. If environmentally responsible practices were to be financially beneficial to businesses through government policies, then it would help to redefine what companies see as profitable. Likewise, if irresponsible practices were to be financially costly to businesses, they would be more likely to try to reduce their costs by changing the ways that they operate.

In order for this design concept to work, we would need to define responsible and irresponsible practices so that companies would be able to make educated decisions. According to Benyus, there are 10 principles that businesses can incorporate to emulate the way that nature operates. These principles should be used a guideline for running environmentally responsible businesses. There are a few of these principles in particular that would be most applicable to a majority of businesses.

The first principle that businesses should apply is called “Gather and Use Energy Efficiently”. This principle is modeled after the way that nature uses energy. It suggests that we should use natural, renewable energy resources from the sun, and only as much energy as needed to complete certain tasks. Businesses should then receive tax incentives for using renewable energy sources and for not using amounts of energy beyond what is required.

A second principle, called “Use Materials Sparingly”, explains how nature optimizes designs to be as durable as they need to be while using as little materials as possible. Multi-function is another key element of this principle. If one object can serve multiple purposes, then you do not need to waste materials by creating two or three separate objects. Companies who engineer their products to use materials more efficiently will not only receive incentives from tax breaks, but will also see a cost benefit because by using fewer materials, they are purchasing fewer raw materials.

A final principle that companies should implement is that of “Run on Information”. This principle suggests that logistics and information systems are paramount in nature. Animals have developed a complex series of communication used for survival based on feedback. Businesses should incorporate better systems of feedback. The ability to examine results and standings would allow businesses to keep themselves in check. It would also allow consumers to see how businesses are doing and make informed decisions about which companies they do business with. The government could also use these information systems to track how well a company is meeting its sustainability goals. If the government has a system of communicating with companies and retrieving vital information, it provides greater accountability.

Overall, if businesses were given a measurable system of environmental accountability with benefits and consequences built into it, then they would ultimately begin to change the way that they perceive typical business practices. They would begin to weigh the environmental costs of certain things because they know that these negative environmental impacts would result in negative financial impacts for them as well.

I Have a Vision

I Have a Vision

As a young adult about to be entering the “real world”, I have thought a lot about what the future holds. Admittedly, most of my thoughts about the future have pertained mostly to me and my personal future. After reading the assignments this week regarding the future of sustainability and the lack of future consciousness today, I’ve realized that I may need to adjust the way that I perceive the future. I have always been optimistic about my future, but rather pessimistic about the future of sustainability. I have found myself guilty of the habitual beliefs discussed in the lecture, falling for assumptions such as “I’m only one person, what does it matter what I do if nobody else is doing anything?”, and “We’ve been doing things the same way for hundreds of years, and we’re all still here, so it must not be that bad”. I need to adopt new mental modes to change my outlook on the future of sustainability. I know that I am not the only person out there in need of a new perspective, and hopefully I can inspire others to adopt new ways of thinking about sustainability as well.

My vision for a sustainable future involves a unified movement of individuals, industries and governments working together to make sustainability a priority. A lot can be accomplished by individuals working at a grass-roots level. In fact, that is how many sustainability efforts are being spread and where a lot of the motivation for sustainability is coming from. Individuals, as consumers, need to be aware of the impact of the choices they make. Many people fall into the same category as me, thinking just one person’s efforts won’t amount to anything. According to Lombardo, this belief that we, as individuals, have the ability to positively affect the future can lead to more optimistic thinking about the future. Our ever increasing population has significantly altered the magnitude of our environmental impact, as according to Durning, United States energy consumption has risen 60% since 1950. However, if everyone were to make even the smallest change in behavior, such as recycling, limiting the amount of packaged products they buy, purchasing goods locally, or growing their own produce, the impact would be significant.

People often require some sort of incentive to make behavioral changes. As true as this is for individuals, it is even greater for businesses and industry. Businesses typically have one major priority: money. Most decisions that a company makes are based on fiscal outcomes. The habitual belief that sustainable practices are more expensive is a hindrance to environmental responsibility in the business world. However, the consumer demand for more sustainable products has made an impact on the way companies perceive environmental responsibility. Ultimately, this makes the consumer the driving force behind sustainable industry practices. Businesses are being more sustainable in order to sell their products. Businesses have the mental mode that they must adapt to the consumer demands in order to stay relevant in the market and gain business from the consumers. The problem with this mental mode is that businesses can deceptively market products in order to gain business without actually altering business practices to be more sustainable. According to Kim and Oki, the rise of global capitalism will play a big role in the future of sustainability. Businesses need to adopt the mental mode of intergenerational responsibility and realize that since they are a big part of the problem, they need to be a big part of the solution as well.

Government does not have the same mental mode as business, because they are not responsible for selling and marketing products to consumers. They do have a responsibility to the people to protect their liberties and safety. As a whole, I believe that governments should be able to implement programs that protect the environment, as long as they don’t interfere with personal liberties. Incentive programs would entice people to practice environmental sustainability without making them feel as if they are being forced to do something against their free will. An example of this would be tax credits for energy saving purchases. Businesses could also be given incentives to practice sustainable. Alternatively, the government could remove counterproductive programs such as subsidies for practices that contribute to problems. By subsidizing certain crops and altering tax laws, the government can control which products are expensive and which are affordable. Sugar, for example, is very affordable and readily available in many countries, but because the Unites States has high tariffs on sugar and subsidizes corn crops, high fructose corn syrup is much more affordable here, and therefore used in many products that are available to consumers. According to Durning, altering tax laws and subsidies in favor of sustainable practices can guide businesses and individuals to be more responsible with our resources.

I have a vision of these three major bodies working together to achieve a sustainable future. Individuals practicing sustainability at a grass-roots level will spark changes in industry practices. These changes in industry practices will play a major role in reducing the negative effects of manufacturing and agriculture. Incentives from the government will help to get people on board who maybe aren’t quite convinced that they need to change their mental mode and are making decisions based on monetary and fiscal gain. I think that some of these things are beginning to take shape in our society now, and we are headed in the right direction. If we can continue to forge ahead in the efforts to change the way our society perceives sustainability then I am optimistic about the future of our planet.