The relationship between industry, environmentalism and design
Moving out of my dorm last weekend, I threw away a lot of things- old notebooks and papers, kitchenware I no longer need, and plastic hangers- just to name a few.
Single-use goods are undeniably a part of our daily lives. In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart explore the life cycle of the products we use and present a new perspective on product design. They envision a world where goods are designed to last, and when they have been used, to create something new. I started reading Cradle to Cradle this week and my head is already spinning. Below are my thoughts on the first chapter of this book.
The Problem of the Industrial Revolution
At the outset, McDonough and Braungart explain the fatal flaw of the Industrial Revolution. While this period of history brought unparalleled economic growth, it devastated the environment and introduced mass manufacturing of poorly-designed products. For example, polyester clothing was easy and cheap to make. Like other products born of the Industrial Revolution, polyester and other new clothing materials were designed to be profitable and efficient. And like what happened with the production of items like appliances and shoes, these ultimate goals of profit and efficiency tended to disregard environmental and health concerns. So while the Industrial Revolution had positive results of a higher standard of living for most and more widely-available healthcare, it also created a pattern of environmental neglect that persists today.
Cradle-to-Grave Design
The industrial goals of profit and efficiency led to the cradle-to-grave model of design. This unintended yet detrimental manufacturing model begins with the extraction of resources. Those resources, whether natural or man-made, are made into the products that we buy. Eventually, we use up that product or exhaust it to a point where it’s no longer useful.
Learning about this wasn’t surprising to me at all. This process a part of our daily lives, day in and day out. Whether it’s a tube of toothpaste, or a pair of running shoes, or the plastic bag that my baby carrots come in, almost everything I use has a limited lifetime. And while some things I use can be recycled in some way, almost nothing I use can actually be returned to its natural state nor can it be re-created into something just as useful.
A Strategy of Change
Products that aren’t made to last, filled with potentially dangerous chemicals, are central to our lives. With this bleak diagnosis, McDonough and Braungart recommend a strategy of change. Rather than chasing economic growth, manufacturing and design must consider the impact of design and the importance of human and ecological health.
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While my purge of dorm room furniture and plastic kitchenware was partly a function of our hasty evacuation of campus, it also speaks to larger design flaws of the goods that I buy and use. I can only keep and reuse so many reusable take-out containers. And I know I won’t use a plastic shelf in the real world. However, as I’m learning from Cradle to Cradle, most of the products I buy weren’t designed to last, much less to be recycled or otherwise made use of when I’m done with them.
Check back for my next installment of All My Thoughts on Zero Waste as I continue learning about the zero waste movement and smart design.
And sorry, Mom- I really did have to throw a lot of that stuff away!
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