Most modern day environmentalism and sustainability efforts are tied to efficiency; reduce, reuse, recycle. According to these mantras, being green means self sacrifice - you have to use less electricity, less water, drive less, and consume less, all steps to make your environmental foot print 'less bad.' 'Less' is not really the most fun or inspiring way to live life. So what if you could consume as much as wanted and feel like all your consumption is actually improving the planet rather then harming it? According to Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart, you could.
The key to creating a future in which human beings lives are improved along with the natural environment, as described in McDonough and Braungart's book "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things," is to realize that industry and the environment do not have to be opposed. Why do humans have such a large negative impact on the Earth? Most people contribute it to our large population which is overwhelming natural systems. Ants also build cities (colonies which are expansive complexes with specific locations designated for diverse tasks), farm their food (some raise aphids, others nurture fungus colonies), and wage war against other ant groups. The total mass of all the ants in the world is greater then the mass of all people in the world, so why aren't ants ruining the planet? All of the activities that ants do actually serve to improve the planet, not harm it, and they are in fact a crucial factor in maintaining soil health and litter removal. So why can't people, be more like ants?
Take for example furniture upholstery. Most textile factories us a large number of diverse chemicals and toxins in their manufacturing process, including cobalt, zirconium and other heavy metals. Fabric trimmings are often considered hazardous waste which is difficult to dispose of, and clean water consumed for the process is released as toxic-sludge. While the fabric is being used, toxic particles are abraded into the air and breathed in by the people sitting on it. When the fabric has served its purpose, it is either land-filled or incinerated, depositing its remaining toxins in the air or soil. Is this really the best way to make furniture?
The authors of 'Cradle to Cradle' helped create a different approach. They designed a fabric made from wool and ramie which together made a strong comfortable fabric. They then selected finishes and dyes that only had positive qualities - 38 of them compared to the almost 8,000 chemicals commonly used in the textile industry. While all of this required an expensive and laborious research process, the end product was higher-quality and more economical. When the fabric went into production, regulators came to test the effluent, and found the water quality leaving the factory was actually higher then water quality entering the factory. Areas of the factory that had previously stored hazardous-chemicals were converted to recreational rooms for employees. The fabric did not release any harmful chemicals due to abrasion from normal use, and when people were finished with it, they could throw it onto the soil or compost pile and it would actually contribute nutrients and improve soil quality.
This concept of a 'cradle to cradle' design process, which takes into account all factors in the life cycle of a product rather then just production and sale, can be applied to all types of products, and can lead to industries that provide valuable goods at reasonable prices while making the world safer for consumers, producers and nature alike. Recycling is a good idea, but most goods that are recycled are not designed with recylability in mind. This means these products may be recycled, but they are often downcycled to a product of inferior quality until they must eventually be disposed of, and often require extra chemical inputs to compensate for their impurities. If products were designed to be fully recyclable, either as plastic or metal that can be continually reused as a high quality material and kept in the industrial loop, or as a completely biodegradable substance that can enhance environmental health, then consuming more would never mean damaging your health, community, or environment. A system of production and consumption that leads to more economic growth, more available resources, more healthy and happy people and a more healthy environment. 'More,' now that's a lifestyle people can get excited about.
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