Mean, Green, Designing Machine
Sustainability, an issue that should always be
addressed when buying something new. Think of the last time you decided to
transform your home into a more updated look. How long has it been? When’s the
last time you decided to update any room for that matter? Most people would say
every few years, every other year, or they simply haven’t at all. My point is,
most people tend to buy things for their home that they can use for an extended
amount of time. Decorations and accessories for your home on the other hand,
can easily be updated every so often. But what I’m really trying to hone in on
is the basic commodities that each individuals home desires. Carpet, wall
coverings, paint colors, wood flooring, and tile are all components of a home
that tend to stay the same for several years. So my question is this, because
those items are last to update in a home, why not spend a little more money on
a product used for the same purpose, but remarkably more efficient?
Is money the real issue when it comes to
converting people over to a sustainable side? Technically, yes. In Armstrong
and LeHew’s article, “Acknowledging the Pink Elephant”, they prove a very clear
point that several people have trouble getting past. They remark how products
are sold at a market price rather than their ecological value, but when
sustainable products are developed, their cost reflects an actual pricing of
resource use. “This is why sustainable products typically cost more than
traditionally made products” (Armstrong & LeHew 2012). I completely agree
that it is much harder to purchase an adorable, sustainable side table for
$150.00, instead of purchasing a very similar table, “unsustainable” for half
the price. What do you think it will take for people to make that shift? A
lower price? Most definitely.
LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment. Within the
life cycle of any product is has five stages, material, design, distribution,
use, and disposal. (Armstrong & LeHew 2012) Now none of these stages are anything
surprising, but where does all of your old furniture, carpets, and rugs go when
you are ready for an update? Maybe a consignment store or the trash? In
Fashioning Sustainability, they discuss unsustainable consumption and how
several items end up in a landfill when they could have been recycled. That’s right;
almost all of your furniture and other household items can be recycled when
ready for disposal.
What I discovered is that several manufacturers
are beginning to take a stand. I am currently working with Herman Miller. Several
of their fabrics they use have a section in there library for eco textiles. Textile
manufacturers such as Architex are designing new lines of Eco-Tex fabrics every
month. Several other popular upholster designers such as Maharam, Momentum, and
C.F. Stinson follow the same pattern of beginning to convert the same designs
that they know and love into something more environmentally friendly. As I
researched, I was curious to know what other type of products were currently
being made to serve the same standard. I came across a company called Woven
Image. This company designs the EchoPanel which is a wall covering made with
60% recycled materials. Their product is also green tag certified. I posted a
video link below that shows you more about their product.
My next
question is how do we get consumers to think like these companies when it comes
to sustainability? Is it convincing people to buy products that really need
compared to products they want for a short amount of time? The “Fashioning
Sustainability” article does an incredibly job of walking you through the
process of clothing. It shows you the process clothes go through and how fast
they are consumed by people. What I like best about this article is that it
shows you other options of buying clothes. It compares buying unsustainable
products to sustainable products. “Acknowledging the Pink Elephant “ article
also does an excellent job of opening consumers eyes, like myself, to a whole
new world they never even thought of before. So what will it take for you to
make the switch over to sustainable products? A higher paying job? A greater
love for the earth? You decide.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think it's great that your outside research was started by a personal experience at work. I think it's awesome that some companies are taking that leap because we know that many are too scared to. I completely agree with you about the price thing! I even touched on that in my blog, but what do you think we can do to cause that change of mind and prove to consumers that choosing a sustainable product is well worth the more pricey cost? Or like you said is it simply just a lower price that can make that change? Maybe so. Therefore, I think in the meantime before the paradigm shift can happen, I think recycling old furniture and carpets would be such a great movement! I wonder why nothing like that exists already? What do you think?
I wonder if it had anything to do with lack of materials? Because if we did recycle used carpet and furniture, designers may be able to find a way to lower the costs by reusing these materials? That may be my next thing to research! But I like the idea of using huge empty store houses to organize piles of carpet, furniture etc. Thanks for your thoughts and comments in my blog!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point! I hadn't even thought about how that could potentially lower the cost which was one of the main issues we were discussing. I think that would be fun to research and look forward to seeing what you find!
DeleteI agree with both of you about the money issue that tags along as a prevention of sustainable paradigm shift. I loved that you pointed that in your blog post! I think that using recycled materials could lower costs! I think that there could be store houses holding the materials recycled! I wonder if there are actually any companies using this method today?
DeleteHi kaitlin! I was just wondering that same thing, I think that may be on my list of things to research about sustainability issues and land fill prevention. Thanks for your comments on my blog, I'm looking forward to reading your next one! Have a lovely rest of your weekend!
DeleteHi, Hannah;
ReplyDeleteYou ask a great question regarding a lack of materials! Right now, it is debatable if we have the infrastructure to support recycling and reuse on the scale that you propose. We are so beholden to virgin materials, our system designed for such, that it will be a revolution in manufacturing and product development to transition. We can do it, because the textile recycling industry is actually the oldest recycling industry, and if they can do it, I feel like we should be able to move out to more interiors materials.
You have done a nice job discussing this topic and finding the bridge from the readings to your field. I appreciate your research and sharing the alternatives in your industry that are currently emerging. I do not see the Thorpe reading referenced. I'm also curious if you found some initiatives happening in the interiors industry to abate some of these environmental issues you learned about? The interiors industry is so far ahead of the apparel industry in terms of their ability to recycle and compost textiles, but they are still in a similar transition to detach from the concept of fashion. I'm sure you could find some industry wide policies or organizations that are working to impact the industry as a whole. Have a good weekend!
Dr. Armstrong-
ReplyDeleteI must have been slightly confused on the topic of current initiatives! I'm sorry to say that I thought a current initiative of recycling would count for one of them since its one of the most import and useful aspects of enhancing a more sustainable world. I could have been wrong though! I feel lucky to be on the interior side a little more now that you said we were much more advanced in the sustainable world, however I do feel there is SO much more we can improve on! See you on the blogs next week. Have a wonderful weekend!
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI think it was interesting that you incorporated different examples of companies that were improving their lines to be more environmentally friendly. I really enjoyed learning about the "EchoPanel," I find this type of product exciting simply because new products can be created from other pre-existing products and be turned into something totally new! Renovation and re-vamping old things is one of my passions! You also discussed that some of the items people throw away and are found in landfills could have been recycled. One idea, you might have incorporated were different ways to alleviate these problems. One way you could have incorporated more of these ideas from "Fashioning Sustainability" would be adding part of their discussion on "fashion consumption" by providing ailments such as Plato's Closet or other consignment stores to keep clothing items out of landfills. I think your blog definitely got me thinking about these issues and raised some questions for me: Why are products sold at an actual price rather than an ecological price? I would like to know more about the products and pricing of sustainable vs. unsustainable products. Another question I had was what will it take to get sustainable products to a new and cheaper price? Will sustainable products ever be in the same price range as sustainable product? And, are there any examples of sustainable vs. unsustainable products that are similar in price currently?
I hope to find out more on this topic!
I know! I would really like to research more about the process of making these incredibly sustainable products to have a better grip on why the products are typically more pricey. I'm hoping to do that more in these up and coming weeks! But yes, I am also hoping to discover new ways to make these products and textiles cheaper, along with finding more ways to prevent the landfill from becoming more and more of a mess. Thanks for your comments, looking forward to reading your next blog!
DeleteHannah,
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed your mention of companies and the materials they are using! I like to learn of companies that I didn't know about before! EcoPanel seems like such a neat textile and I enjoyed learning more about this.