Never Ending Cycle

I remember being in elementary school and learning about the different life cycles in my science class.  I remember learning about the water cycle, and how precipitation eventually turns into evaporation.  I also remember learning about photosynthesis and how plants need sunlight and carbon dioxide in order to grow and give off oxygen.  Who would have known there would be so much importance placed on this later in life, and that it should be considered in designing all things? It is the basic knowledge we learn when we are younger that most people forget to apply later in life. 

A little science review

Nature is something that is meant to last for millions of years because it is always evolving into new forms.  Our ecosphere consists of four layers, the atmospphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.  We as consumers use these spheres to produce all materials.  As stated in The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability by Anna Thorpe, “ Estimates are that it takes one-third of a pound of lithosphere chemicals to produce a cotton shirt (Thorpe 24).”  This is just to make the shirt. This does not include the chemicals used to grow the cotton or the amount of times you wash the shirt after you purchase it.  An ecosystem maintains a balanced cycle by using a metabolism, or life maintaining process.  This goes back to the basic science life cycles such as the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and water cycle, which we were all taught in elementary school. 

 

Consumer Destruction

We as consumers are destroying the natural lifecycles by creating materials, which do not apply to the same concept as nature, of evolving into newer forms. As stated in The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability by Ann Thorpe, “We would need three or four planet Earths to sustain the world’s population at the current lifestyles of Western countries (Thorpe 29).”  We are disrupting the nature’s cycles by using materials too quickly, discarding large amounts of materials, and taking more material from the lithosphere and putting it back into other spheres where they do not belong. As stated in The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability, “One thousand new chemicals are introduced each year.  Most of these chemicals have not been tested on human health, but like other processed lithosphere materials, they will end up somewhere in our biosphere (Thorpe 31).”  In the video, Case study of C2C and Roehner Textiles, the chemicals used to die their fabrics were tested only to determine they caused cancer, birth defects, immune system disruption, soil and water toxicity, and they found that of the 1600 dies sold, only sixteen of them were not harmful.  Out of these sixteen dies they were able to make virtually  any color and still remain competitive.  This only proves that it is possible to make a change and still maintain a good business.  

Solutions to Sustainability

There are many different directions designers can choose to take, in efforts to save the ecosphere, but who is to say what is the best solution? Many people think that just by recycling, they will save the environment.  Little do they know, that recycling actually degrades the material quality which results in down-cycling.  Even though we sort things to be recycled, almost every product has some sort of contaminant, which can be hazardous when the recycled material begins its new life.  The book The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability describes a contaminant by stating, “ clothing might be 100% cotton, except for the button, zipper, and thread (Thorpe 42).” Contaminants can cause danger cycling , which is when one material is recycled into another product, in which it was never intended to be.  The retail store Patagonia creates their clothing from recycled soda bottles.  The book The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability explains, “Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soda bottles are being recycled into fleece sweaters.  Yet the material composition of a soda bottle is not necessarily suitable for prolonged contact with the human skin.  The Bottles contain the toxic chemical antimony, potentially harmful plasticizers, ultra violet (UV) stabilizers, and other chemicals (Thorpe 42).”   Even though they are making an effort to turn the bottles into a new life, they might be harming their consumers.   

            An alternative to down-cycling in order to save our ecosystem is up-cycling.  Up-cycling is when materials are remade into a high-quality material. Most of these materials would be made from a pure substance so that they could be easily sorted and up-cycled.  This method eliminates the dangers of contaminants.  The retail store Patagonia is making an effort toward Up-cycling by providing a place where customers can bring their old apparel into their store to be recycled into new clothes with the same value. Below is a video of a creative way to up-cycle.  

            Designers today find a tremendous amount of inspiration for their designs from nature.  Why can’t we include nature from the beginning of our designs life, to the end? If we as designers consider our designs like the basic life cycles we were taught in elementary school, we would be able to make a difference and change the decline in our ecosphere.  

           

A few Restricted Substance

·      AAFA

o   Arylamines- Often used in hair dyes, sunscreen, photographic additives, and temporary tattoos.

§  Cause allergic contact dermatitis to people

o   Asbestos- found in manufactured goods such as shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper and cement products, textiles and coatings,  and friction products such as automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts.

§  Risk of developing lung disease, asbestosis, and mesothelioma.

o   Dioxins and Furans- created when products like herbicides are made

§  Can cause cancer, changes in hormone levels, and decreased ability to reproduce

·      GOTS

o   Aromatic Solvents- used in commercial applications such as industrial solvents and chemical intermediates.

§  Can cause depressant effects to the central nervous system, irritation, nausea, and unconsciousness. 

o   Chlorophenols- very low levels in drinking water.

§  In large amounts can cause cancer, skin irritation such as swelling scabbing and scar formation.

Industry Efforts Toward Sustainability

·      Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD)

o   http://fredgebhart.com/Industry%20Initiatives.pdf

·      Cradle to Cradle (C2C)

o  http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/cradle-to-cradle