In their text, Gullingsrud and Perkins discuss the five attributes that define the cradle to cradle certification. The five attributes are, Material Health, Material Reutilisation, Water Stewardship, Renewable Energy and Carbon Management, and Social Fairness. I think these attributes are good measures for cradle to cradle sustainability, because they address multiple aspects of sustainability, including ethical material production/usage and sustainable resource usage. I found the Fashion Positive section particularly interesting, because it outlines how these 5 attributes can be employed by companies and designers to create positive methodological advancements for a cradle-to-cradle approach. The authors outline how sustainability should be a way to do “more good” instead of “less bad.” I appreciate this perspective, because even in my own life, I find the shear magnitude of the environmental impacts of the fashion industry to be somewhat overwhelming, and it can be difficult to know what areas to focus on. The author’s break-down of a cradle to cradle approach through positive design methods is an encouraging solution to an extremely large problem.
Week 5: Response to Gullingsrud and Perkins – Hope Myers
I thought this article had a lot of really good points about how companies can re-design their process to become cradle to cradle, however one issue I had was that they made doing all of these things sound really simple. They give all of these nice lists of things to do but obviously in reality it will be much harder and more costly, as well asking taking time to make these changes. However I do think it’s possible, but the best way to start would be to get bigger companies on board. A lot of the difficult part is developing the new technologies for things like separating fiber types, but big companies with larger budget for research and development would have a much greater impact. Unfortunately these companies are also often the ones that are most resistant but once there is more competition to develop and use the cradle to cradle technologies the process will be much quicker. It needs to be pushed more as a world wide movement that affects everyone!
I think it says a lot though that only one chemical company was willing to share their formulas to help develop sustainable carpets and I find it astounding that of their 8000 chemicals only 38 were deemed human and environmentally safe. It would probably be hard to force companies to share their formulas since they are most likely patented, but more transparency would have a big impact.
Response to Gullingsrud and Perkins—Alessandra
Much like Scatturo’s piece, Annie Gullingsrud and Lewis Perkins are focused on re-wiring designers’ and retailers’ intent behind their designs. They include several solutions for how clothing can be designed to be sustainable, and that clothing’s purpose should be to benefit and enrich the human experience, not burden it with the omen of future disaster. Their focus is on “Cradle to Cradle” design, or the idea that pulling the resource out in order to make something should also benefit where the resource was pulled from. For example, by using products that are easily recyclable, the designer is indirectly benefitting where the textile came from since they won’t need to remove so much in the future. This idea, while it seems simple to many, is actually quite revolutionary in the fashion industry. Fashion pieces throughout history are either made to be worn often or meant for leaving a lasting impression on those around you, or art you can wear. None of these are related to what happens before the piece is made, and that is why we find ourselves in the critical situation we’re in. By focusing on enriching all destinations of a fashion piece——from sourcing to creation to closet to disposal——we’re able to solve the fast fashion problem without resorting to giving up personal style or slowing everything down.
Response to Gullingsrud, Annie and Lewis Perkins-Xiaoyan Kong
Reading this chapter written by Gullingsrud, Annie and Lewis Perkins is very encouraging. It not only talks about almost all the ways one can think about to design for the circular economy in such a detail way, but also shows us examples of the ideas that are in real action. Here, they are not doing it for the goal of producing zero waste, it is unrealistic. They are searching a way that they can do ”more good” instead of “less bad”.
There is a new way of thinking and designing – it is possible to “design good products for the world and they are positive, beautiful-inside and outside” (296). One thing mentions in the chapter that especially interests me is the ”Everything equals Food”. They use the cherry blossom example McDonough and Braungart provides to explain how it can apply to the fashion industry. I think the idea that the designer not design just for single use but for “a legacy of products with a storyline that has no end” (300).
This means the clothing is actually designed with a purpose of being safe for humans and the environment. This is a very good vision for the future clothing industry. It does sound simple, but doesn’t mean it is easy to achieve. It takes everyone to realize we are not only individuals living on this planet but also a connected community.
Response to Gullingsrud and Perkins – Jennifer Cheung
Gullingsrud’s and Perkin’s chapter provides a detailed guide of how to be more aware of the ways in which the fashion industry can be more sustainable. By laying out the different aspects of how the industry affects the earth and people, we are able to understand what choices can be made to lessen the impacts and what to consider when aiming towards more sustainable and ethical practices. They offer Cradle to Cradle as a solution, which is a new way of thinking that can better the industry, which designs not to lessen the negative impacts, but to intentionally leave a lasting, positive impact.
This ties back to a previous lecture, in which we discussed that the solution isn’t to only use less, because it only delays the ultimate consequence, which is running out of our resources. Using less resources and being more conscious of our individual impact on the earth is a step in the right direction, but resources are still finite. However, by using Cradle to Cradle, we can design clothes that don’t simply take up materials, but leave a positive impact on the planet. Clothes can be made with safe materials that can be reused in the future as “food” for other systems, leaving a “legacy” of products that come from the same materials. This would be a great solution to the immense amount of fabric waste and air/water pollution that happens every year. By using materials that are safe for the earth, workers, and wearers, the entire system of fabric production and wear is positively affected. Like nature that breathes new life into organisms through natural waste, Cradle to Cradle enforces better allocation of energy and resources to breathe new life into many products, generating as little waste as possible. This system doesn’t rely on using less, it utilizes good design to ensure that materials are used to their fullest potential and better the environment around them.