Zohraa28

Cradle to Cradle Chapter 1

BUS 200-003 Thursday September 28th, 2017

Annie Dang, Huy Tran, Zohra Islamzada, Nolan Conniff, Sabrina Vasquez

A question of Design

The industrial age was symbolized with the largest moving object created in 1912. The gigantic creation that poured waste into the water and smoke into the sky promised to be invulnerable to nature. The Titanic led to a tragedy and a disaster.

A Brief History of the Industrial Revolution

The engineers in the industrial revolution designed everything with no regard for efficiency.The revolution began with textiles in England making farmers factory workers in factories mass-producing fabric that was produced faster and more consistently than before.  People moved closer to factories and away from farms as jobs increased.  London became filthy and constantly polluted. People were seen as expendable.

Industries have been producing smoke and other environmental hazards in the air for years.

One of the positive aspects of the revolution was that it equalized the difference between the different classes as the increased supply of goods and materials increased, the quality of life improved.  Public transit and waste collection improved and products were cheaper.  The industrial revolution was unplanned and motivated by the want for more capital, and fore things produced faster and cheaper.  Cars were the best example of this revolution. They went from being handcrafted to streamlined and available for all.  The model T was desirable, affordable, and operable by anyone. Winston Churchill said that this factory line worked as a weapon of democracy being able to respond quickly in war times.

This cycle shows how most consumer goods always end up in the trash.

Those Essences Unchanged by Man

Early Industries relied on natural resources and factories were placed close to rivers.  In the 19^th century, resources seemed infinite, and nature was seen as something that needed to be controlled and tamed.  Conquering the wild was seen as cultural.  The agenda for the industrial revolution was never to care for the environment, only to get products to consumers quickly and cheaply.  This resulted in a higher standard of living, increased life expectancy, increase in good education, electricity and communications becoming more evolved and improved technologies for growing populations.  The flaws in the revolution however handed down consequences to the people of today and tomorrow.

From Cradle to Grave

The cradle to grave model is when resources are extracted, shaped, sold, and then disposed of in a “grave” (Landfill or incinerator).  As the consumer we use some of the things we buy such as food and liquids, but the rest is thrown away.   But there is no “away”.  90% of goods follow this model.  It is often the cheaper to buy a new product than to repair the original item.  They are often built with obsolescence in mind.  Landfills are full of goods that were created from natural materials and even now have worth, but they rot in a landfill. We as consumers only see the tip of the iceberg.    

One size fits all

Universal designs may have both negative and positive outcomes

The desire of a universal design merged after Cradle to Grave model, where the international style movement's goals were social and aesthetic. A universal design could make things easy, cheap and uniform in different settings so that things can work the same anywhere.  But also, things will be manufactured for the worst-case scenario; so all things will always work efficiently no matter the circumstances. But universal design could relate nature as our enemy.  Manufacturers would add more chemicals to make things productive, and as a consequence, more waste products ends on fields or sewage effluents. 

Brute force

The struggle for making universal solutions of incalculable things and conditions made nature to produce changes. The sketchy belief of 'brute force' altered global warming, climate and temperature change. Humans could be compiling a vast deal of solar income with every day's sunlight. This regulation could help improve the airborne toxins result from incinerating fossil fuels in industries.

A culture of monoculture

Upward trend in temperature due to global warming

The conventional agriculture tends to work in monoculture, which was acquired by the design of the industrial revolution that was intended to produce fast, without problems nor expenses. The original design of a natural and cultural diversity was omitted with the use of brute force that focused on universal design. Monoculture brought less variety and greater homogeneity. Genetically modified products caused the loss of originality and variety of the initial product because its production did not meet the demands of modern commerce. The greater demands resulted in farmers having significant environmental problems that were affected by the use of raw chemical strength. The soil started to be depleted of nutrients and saturated with chemicals. Unfortunately, more fertilizers must be applied to keep the system commercially stable.

A strategy of Tragedy, or a Strategy of Change?

Economic growth is one of the main focuses that industrial infrastructure is designed to chase. Not only is human and ecological health a concern but cultural and natural richness can also be negatively impacted. There are so many side effect that come from the industries around the world. Even though companies have also had plenty of achievements there is also consequences that may derive within these successes.

So many companies have strived to help with hunger relief around the world. Big businesses such as Panera bread for example, have been donating their unsold food to hunger relief agencies. It is great that they are providing food to so many less fortunate people in their local area but there are also so many more other people around the world that are not able to eat for days. Increase in food stocks have also helped feed children but considering substances that can come from everyday foods such as cancer, Genetically Modified Organisms, allergies and industrial contamination one can conclude that there are no true successes that come from this.

It is obviously not one’s intent to hurt the earth and harm mother nature but it is important to understand new and better eco friendly designs to help future generations. Since intergenerational remote tyranny is dependent on our actions present day.

Cradle to Cradle Company Example

There have been many companies that have implemented the Cradle to Cradle strategy. One of those companies include Designtex; a New York-based design firm. As of late, there has been much concern surrounding fashion and its impact on human health, the environment and workers (Lumsden, 2014). Due to this, the head of the firm, Susan Lyons, decided to develop a collection of ecological fabrics. In other words, “green” fabric.  

To set forth this idea into action, a partnership between three parties formed: Designtex; William McDonough and Michael Braungart; and the Swiss textile mill Rohner. The goal was to “develop upholstery with remnants that would not be considered hazardous waste” (Lumsden, 2014). With that being said, Braungart analyzed more than “8,000 chemical formulations commonly used in textile production, then selected 38 that he deemed safe for human and environmental health” (Lumsden, 2014).  

These specific dyes and chemicals were deemed acceptable for usage in the production of Climatex upholstery. According to Designtex, improving this chemistry “changed the mill's water release, which became cleaner than the incoming water” (Lumsden, 2014). Because of the production of these new fabrics designed to decompose safely, the mill “saved scraps and turned them into felt, avoiding costly disposal fees” (Lumsden, 2014). This was quite useful for the local strawberry farmers, as they used this felt as ground cover for their crops. Designtex has since then expanded its Climatex offering to about 20 styles, and Climatex was awarded C2C (Cradle to Cradle) gold certification.

References/Links

What is Cradle to Cradle?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP8PRA-OajU

Corporations that are going eco-friendly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3cAPJ-M8qk

How to up-cycle materials using cradle to cradle idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK1w11oo4H4

William McDonough explains these ideas in a Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design

Lumsden, F. (2014, March 20). Cradle to Cradle: 4 success stories, from countertops to fabrics. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/20/4-cradle-cradle-certified-product-breakthroughs