Global Responsibility

Sustainable resources:

Manufactures, designers, retailers and consumers all have some sort of impact on the environment. Sustainability involves taking into account all the materials we use, where they come from, as well as what to do with them at the end of their useful life cycle.

Non-renewable resources:

Usually designers and manufactures use a wide variety of materials from non-renewable resources. This causes raw materials such as oil, ores and minerals to eventually run out. They are known as finite resources as they are produced over thousands of years. The production and disposal of these resources also have a negative effect on the environment, by producing emissions and waste that cannot be broken down.

Renewable resources:

We must use a greater amount of renewable resources in our products, in order to make our resources last longer. As well as by helping the environment, this would also safeguard the supply of products and services for the future. Logos can be used to reassure the buyer where the material has come from so they can make informed choices on what they buy. For example many timber products now carry the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo, which is used to reassure the customer the timber supply is from renewable and managed resources. These logos help consumers make informed choices on what they buy.

The six R’s:

Reduce:

Reducing the amount of raw materials we use will improve sustainability. Designers and manufacturers should aim to use as less materials and components as required. Manufacturing processes that reduce the production of toxic substances should also be considered.

Refuse:

Consumers, manufactures and also designers should try to refuse more packaging by only using the amount of materials required to package the product and to not waste resources.

Re-use:

Reusing materials is very important, as the amount of processing required is much less than using raw materials, and therefore has less of a negative effect on the environment.

Products and packaging can be reused, and online based companies such as Ebay are trying to reduce the amount of packaging and new materials produced across the globe.

Repair:

It is important for us to think about whether we can repair an existing product rather than purchasing a new one.

Recycle:

Nowadays many products manufactured can be recycled, and recycling symbols on product indicate to the consumer how to dispose of these products, as well as how they should be processed. Recycling required much less energy to occur than the energy required to extract the raw material, so is better for the environment as well as being financially beneficial. Some examples of materials that can be recycled are card, paper, aluminium, glass, as well as some plastics.

Rethink:

It is now time for major reappraisal of the way we buy and dispose products as part of our sustainable development, to ensure that there will still be enough readily available resources for the future, as well as ensuring that the environment remains in a good state.

Carbon Footprint:

A carbon footprint is “the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organisation, event, product or person”. These greenhouse gases can be emitted in many forms such as through transport and manufacturing, and are usually expressed in the terms of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted.

The carbon footprint is a subset of the ecological footprint and of the ore comprehensive life cycle assessment. All of companies involved in this are trying to reduce the carbon foot print by cutting down energy use and by using less fossil fuels.

Fair Trade:

Originally, the fair trade foundation was set up to help to prevent poverty amongst farmers. Many products are now fair trade and are indicated by the fair trade symbol. Fair trade products have a very large range, and some of these are composite products such as clothing of which not only help farmer welfare, but also prevent slave labour around the world.