Happy Earth Day! Yesterday I was at the grocery store and was embarrassed that I had forgotten my canvas bags. I felt the judgmental stares as I packed my food into plastic bags. Amazingly, that’s the way our world is changing. It is uncool not to be green. What's disturbing is the amount of faux-green that is out there. Once the eco-market swept our nation everyone, and I mean everyone, jumped on the bandwagon. From hybrid SUVs, to recycled couture, everyone is diving into the green pool. The only problem with this is the ease of accepting a label vs. learning the facts behind a products’ entire life-cycle.
I feel that a truly green citizen is one that is changing their lifestyle so that their footprint is lesser and lesser over time. This entails changing the way we consume, what we consume, how we conserve and what we do with products right through to the end. Here’s where my journey began.
I started by educating myself. I began with a book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. It's a revolutionary book that describes how our world needs to be re-designed so that we are not damaging our ecosystems, ourselves and our futures. The model described by architects McDonough and Braungart is simple. It’s based on a closed-loop system. A closed-loop system is when a product begins its life and then stays out of a landfill by continually circulating so that it can be re-made, transformed, upgraded or downgraded to suit anyone’s needs. As such, we continue to fabricate and utilize things that are constantly being re-cycled. It’s a beautiful thing, really.
But again, it’s understanding what the effects of the overpopulated landfills are, and appreciating how damaging it is to the world. What’s also critical is designing industries that are profitable, economically effective and regenerative. This results in prosperity and valueable lifestyle. It's a fascinating read for anyone who wants to learn more about our environment and how to protect and preserve it.
Here are some other books:
How do you feel about the green movement? Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of green products available? Do you buy green products?
Julia Black is the assistant designer on the eco-friendly makeover program Pure Design, now casting for season 2 in Toronto!
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