The way we consume stuff is broken. In fact, it’s a lose-lose scenario.
Every day, with every purchase, we all engage in a well-known process. We pay to take raw ‘nutrients’ from the planet (metal, wood, plastic, etc), use them briefly in some product or another, and then throw them away - to clog the oceans, poison the earth, and destroy the ecosystems we have left. Despite the best efforts of all of us, 80% of the stuff we put in recycling bins goes to landfill.
Let’s not kid ourselves - this is still the default global system, and we’re all forced to be a part of it.
Not just for eco-warriors
You don’t have to be environmentally-focused to understand that this system is ridiculous. It’s not only morally reprehensible - it’s also immensely inefficient.
It takes a lot of effort to extract these ‘nutrients’ from the earth, of which there are only limited amounts, and it takes a lot of effort to put them back in the ground - creating the piles of poisonous rubbish we use to blight the planet. That effort costs money. And that money is built into the price of everything, one way or another. We’re actually paying for this madness.
The money that’s left over goes into building poor-quality products, designed to be thrown away - so we don’t feel so awful doing it.
Circular economies require us to value what we’re given
There are a few, rare, markets that have functioned in a different way - a “circular” way - since the dawn of time.
Take gold and silver jewellery. These items can still become undesirable as they age - just like your old garden furniture or 1990s clothing… but when was the last time anyone put a gold necklace in the bin?
In fact, around 70% of all the gold ever mined is still in circulation today.
The reason why is clear - it’s because we, humanity, collectively agree that the underlying materials have value. So instead of chucking them into a smelly hole in the ground, we melt them down and reform them into beautiful new items.
The plastic, wood, metal, and other materials that we send to landfill by the tonne also have an immense value. But their value is not measured in pounds, euros and dollars - it’s measured in cleaner oceans, healthier ecosystems, and a kinder, better future for our children.
Creating an obvious system
These materials do have a monetary value.
It just requires us to change the system in order to harness it. If we can get many more uses out of the same material that goes into, for example, a bedside crib, it allows something magical - but also somehow obvious - to happen.
It means the money that, with every purchase, you used to put into (1) mining materials and (2) digging a hole for them to rot in, can now go in two new directions.
It allows us, humanity, to build better products - beautiful, sustainable, high-quality new products that are truly worth valuing - at more accessible prices than before.
It allows all of us to turn a lose-lose scenario into a win-win.
It allows us to make products that are radically better, and radically kinder.
