With the way consumers are these days it makes me question
whether consumers even have the power to slow down their rate of consumption.
This thought of mine makes me lean towards the biological metabolism, which creates
substances that can be returned back into the biological cycle to be consumed
by animals and microorganisms. “The idea is to compose these products of
materials that can be tossed on the ground or compost heap to safely biodegrade
after use—literally to be consumed” (Cradle to Cradle). Although I think the
rate of consumption absolutely needs to slow down, whether it be by educating
consumers so they are aware of the harm they are doing to the environment or
the government implementing laws using biological nutrients can help consumers
feel a little better about overconsumption. If this metabolism were
implemented, packaging would decay over time and could be used as fertilizers.
Even the deterioration of shoe soles would give back to the environment. Soaps
and cleaning products made out of liquids would pass through the drain and end
up in bodies of water sustaining the environment. An issue lies in what we
would do concerning clothing; the idea right now is to combine cotton and PET
however the synthetic dyes in PET contain questionable particles. As soon as
this issue can be figured out, the biological metabolism could do wonders for
our environment concerning sustainability.
Hannah-
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to determine exactly what measures the government and retailers could take to increase the awareness of consumers, in terms of environmental issues. I completely agree with you, I too think there are many barriers that are standing in the way in the future adoption of the biological metabolism approach. In your opinion, what barrier poses the greatest threat? What alternatives do you have in mind that could substitute the use of synthetic dyes?
I think the biggest threat is how quickly the needed changes will be accepted by consumers. As for dyes, I think that naturally colored cotton should be used as well as avoiding dark dyes since require extra rinsing.
DeleteHi, Hannah;
ReplyDeleteI'm with Bree in that it is unclear as to what may move consumers in a different direction. But, consumers are not entirely in control of the infrastructure that creates product for their choosing, so the solution is likely to be more symbiotic than from one group.
It would be helpful if you could focus your proposed concept on one specific solution and describe that solution in detail. This makes it easier for us to provide you some feedback and help you build on your idea (that potentially may be used for your Visioneering project). Can you provide some details about one specific idea supported by biological metabolism? Thanks!
Dr. Armstrong-
DeleteAs I stated above, using products that can be put back into the environment for further use is what we need to be moving towards. I believe the use of plastic to be a big problem for our world and I know in the past I have read about plastics being manufactured from renewable raw resources which I think could be very beneficial.
Hannah-
ReplyDeleteGood job on your post. I agree that consumption definitely needs to slow down and you include a lot of great ideas for biological metabolism products in your post. Which do you think would be the most beneficial?
Emily-
DeleteI think that worry-free packaging would be the most beneficial because I know how quickly I go through soap bottles or how we all immediately throw away the packaging an item comes in.
Good job Hannah, what kind of products do you suggest you implement with the biological metabolism?
ReplyDelete