Up The Chain.

There has been much talk about the water pollution violations that have been occurring by the textile factories in China. The violations included serious threats such as illegally dumping untreated toxic wastewater into rivers and streams. So when we pull out that favorite shirt of ours that smells like lavender from the dryer, we need to start asking ourselves exactly how clean is it?   

The groups of individuals I would target for this article are the multi-national companies, who would be considered “over consumers.” In the article Design Activism by Alastair Faud-Luke, over consumers are quoted to be “the rich 20 percent of the global population whose total mass and flow of consumption is causing most of the problems.” I am considering these multinational companies as over consumers because of their need to go overseas to buy a mass production of materials and textiles simply because it is quicker and cheaper.

It is common for companies to have a business relationship only with factories at the “end” of the chain, that is, the ones actually stitching together the clothes. They often have little to no contact with factories further “up” the supply chain, that is, the ones who spin, knit, dye and finish the fabric before it becomes a garment.  Unfortunately, these factories “up the chain” are where the most serious pollution problems occur, because of their intensive use of water, energy and toxic chemicals. That’s where the action is, so that’s where any multi-national apparel corporate responsibility program needs to focus. 

This is also where their business decision’s needs to focus. Sourcing departments within these companies need to start including environmental requests as one of the factors considered when deciding where to place orders. Without these real business consequences of poor environmental performance, all the sustainability reports in the world will not make a difference. As brand owners, they are in the best position to influence the environmental impacts of production and to work together with their suppliers to eliminate the releases of all hazardous chemicals from the production process and their products.

The most important thing that I have learned this year from our sustainability class is that I need to be more aware of the issues surrounding me, such as the topic discussed above and also how I could change my everyday routine to better our environment. There are so many things that I am still interested in learning more about, such as how to exactly implement huge changes that need to be made by the large corporations. How could just one consumer like me make changes so big? I might have just answered my own question, it will most likely take hundreds maybe thousands of consumers like me to make the change. Who’s in?! 

A Great Character of Strength

               Designers and builders have long recognized and lauded steel for its strength, durability, and functionality. But one thing that hasn’t been noticed enough is its high recycled content and high reclamation rate. The steel industry's annual recycling saves the equivalent energy to electrically power about 18 million households for a year.

                I have applied the concept of “technical metabolism” to the recycling of steel. Technical metabolism is designed to mirror the earth’s cradle-to-cradle cycles, is a closed-loop system in which valuable materials circulate in a perpetual cycle of production, recovery, and remanufacture. For many years, there has been a strong economic motive to incorporate recycling into the process for making steel and other building materials, but today’s environmental concerns make recycling even more important. Recycling saves money while conserving energy and resources, as well as reducing solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes. Recycling steel diverts these products from landfill, and enables the material to be reprocessed, thereby conserving raw materials. Steel is one of the most easily-recycled materials on Earth. Unlike other materials, it does not need to be sorted by color or size. Rather, it is simply picked up by a magnet and melted down. Steel is 100% recyclable and can be recycled an infinite amount of times, designers and builders have to take advantage of the upcyling of this material.

If We Live Truly We Shall See Truly

In the book Cradle to Cradle they state that in nature, there is no such thing as waste. Also that humans took substances from the Earth’s crust and concentrated, altered, and synthesized them into vast quantities of material that cannot safely by returned to soil. Waste is synonymous to food, everything goes back to the earth as sustenance.

            Many experts still upheld the position that waste prevention was only possible in manufacturing processes, but not in product utilization. I propose that we adopt nature’s way of sustainability and zero waste in our industrial production processes. So that the products and materials we produce can be reutilized, recycled, or completely biodegraded to its organic components. Also creating materials and products that have biological nutrients, which are organic materials that can decompose into the natural environment, soil and water without affecting it in a negative way, providing food for bacteria and microbiological life.

            Cradle to cradle is the way to change, “the way we make things” to mimic the seamless process of sustainability in nature. Which can be done by incorporating sustainability into every product. Engineers, architects, and designers will have to provide for end-of-life product handling while the product is still in the conceptualization stage.

            Since the start of the industrial revolution, we’ve been boxed into this appearance of limited options. Cradle-to-cradle challenges this mirage of limited choices. When sustainability is added in the very design of the product, the options become limitless for us. This is an idea that seeks to create materials and products that are not just efficient but essentially waste free.

Together Everyone Achieves More

Industrial ecologists have been concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, especially with use of the planet's supply of natural resources and with problems of waste disposal. Two principles of Industrial Ecology that approach issues and solutions involving sustainability are “Design for the Environment” and “Gather and Use Energy Efficiently.”

            “Design for the Environment” is used to prevent pollution and any risk that could potentially harm humans and the environment. One example would be promoting green cleaning and recognizing safer consumer and industrial products through safer product labeling. Green cleaning can also describe the way residential and industrial cleaning products are manufactured, packaged and distributed. The packaging of textiles and materials can do great harm to the environment if the materials used are not environmentally friendly.

            The second principle is “Gather and Use Energy Efficiently,” which is the efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products or services. In the Interior Design industry an example would be the use of insulation in residential and commercial buildings, by using less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable room temperature. In the book Textile Futures they state that, “Technology holds exciting applications for the future, but so does Mother Nature.” One way to use the applications of Mother Nature would be the placement of windows in a building or home. In cooler climates, designing buildings with south-facing windows increases the amount of sun entering the buildings, minimizing energy use, by maximizing passive solar heating.  Also, in the book Sustainable Fashion and Textiles they state that, “designing light is not just about materials but also construction.” A buildings location and surroundings (such as trees, landscaping, and hills) can play a big part in controlling its temperature and the amount of light emitted by blocking wind and adding shade.

            The primary goal of Industrial Ecology is to promote sustainable development. Hopefully all industry leaders and consumers such as our selves can jump on board with the same goal. Together, everyone achieves more.

Hear the Roar

             Industrial ecology has been referred to as “the science of sustainability”. Although this might be too broad of a definition, industrial ecology is the understanding of the complex interactions between industrial activities and environmental systems.

            One very important principle in industrial ecology is life cycle thinking. It implies that all environmental impacts caused by a product, system, or project during its life cycle are taken into account. In The book Industrial Ecology they argue that “materials and products that are obsolete should be termed residues rather than wastes, and it should be recognized that wastes are merely residues that our economy has not yet learned to use efficiently.” Adopting a life cycle approach is essential to avoid shifting environmental impacts from one life cycle stage to another.

            One concept to avoid waste consumption is for companies to implement a “buy back policy” or issue a discount to consumers for recycling their products. As an example Pepsi has machines on Oklahoma States campus issuing rewards points for people who recycling their products into their machines. The main idea is for companies to provide incentives to the consumers to promote the concept of reuse, remanufacture and recycle. 

            In the book Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature, Ecologist Paul Ehrlich say’s “that we are not hardwired genetically to respond to long term dangers- it takes a saber-toothed tiger roaring at the cave mouth for us to jump out of our skins.” Changes need to be made to prevent the amount of waste consumption, creating more efficient ways to recycle so that the environment will improve instead of continuing to get worse.