THUNDER, I mean Trade
UP
Contradictory
to last weeks blog, I am going to focus on two ways of sustainably trading up.
First referring to the book and how it talks about upcycling. Secondly I am going
to talk about some ways to sustainably trade up from toxic dyes to non-toxic
organic dyes.
Upcycling
is the process of taking old products and making them into “high quality
materials” that have the same or more value. (Thorpe 2007) This is typically
only possible if the products used are pure substances. For example when
companies add other chemicals or metals into steel to give it a non-tarnish
affect. The new steel when melted back down will be weaker and it would not
have the same value as before. One good example of how this is successfully
done was in the Patagonia video. They have a recycling program called “Common
Threads Initiative” where people return their 100% Polyester clothing and they
break it back down and have it remade into string that they will then use
again. This has the same value or more as before because the product was 100%
Polyester and nothing was taken away or lost. According to their website, “Since 2005, we’ve taken back 45 tons of
clothing for recycling and made 34 tons into new clothes.” That is 11 tons of
clothing that won’t end up in landfills, better yet 11 tons of polyester that
wont end up in landfills. Polyester is a textile that wont biodegrade unless
under certain conditions such as, “Conditions where they are exposed to the combined attack of water and
microbes”. (Leaversuch, 2002)
LEED
is one program that has put a lot of emphasis on recycling products. In their
buildings you have to have a certain percent of recycled materials to qualify
for LEED Eligibility. In the LEED handbook they say their goal is, “To
reuse building materials and products to reduce demand for virgin materials and
reduce waste, thereby lessening impacts associated with the extraction and
processing of virgin resources.” They put an emphasis on this because they too
understand the importance of pure “virgin” products. A lot of materials used in building are not pure. Other
things are added to paint to make it stain resistant. Other metals are added to
aluminum to make it more durable. By adding these substances you decrease the
value of these products and when it comes to recycling them they cant be.
In
the GOTS manual there were lists of chemicals that are banned from the
production of textiles. Many of these were used in the dyeing of fabrics. One
good example is 4-Aminobiphenyl. This is a chemical used in
manufacturing of azo dyes. The reason this is on the GOTS list is because it
is, according to the National Toxicology Program, is a carcinogen. Which is a
substance that can cause cancer. Another fun fact about 4-Aminobiphenyl is that
it can create a dust explosion. Because of this combustibility when it powder
form, “Dust
forms explosive mixtures with air. “ (GESTIS Substance Database)
When
referring to the dyeing of textiles I think that all manufactures should
partake in the cradle-to-cradle idea. This states that substances found in earth
should end up back in earth, without harming it. I think all substances used in
dyes should be biological nutrients. This is a “material or product that is
designed to return to the biological cycle- literally consumed by
microorganisms in the soil and by other animals. “ (Braungart & McDonough)
An example of this would be using natural indigo dyes. Because they are made
from plant extracts, natural indigo dyes are biodegradable and won’t release
any toxins back into the earth. This is a great way to avoid chemicals getting
into the earth and another great way to trade up.
Trading up to sustainable products is something all of us
should be able to and I hope after reading this you will consider it when it
comes to your designs and choosing of fabrics. To end this blog I have posted a
link to the live strong website that has a list of every day things that can be
save biodegradable in landfills or could be used in compost if for some reason
you make that.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/219138-list-of-biodegradable-every-day-products/
1. Thunder up, yes. Lets hope Game 3 goes better than last night :)
ReplyDelete2. “Conditions where they are exposed to the combined attack of water and microbes”. (Leaversuch, 2002)--- You quoted this about polyester, Do you think we could have a recycle plant that poly could be sent to and decomposed there. As i was looking into it I found that polester is made of air, water, coal and petroleum, if there was a plant that could break down the polyester and recycle the petrolium, it could be used for energy. The API (American Petroleum Institute) says, "If you recycle just two gallons of used oil it can generate enough electricity to run the average household for almost 24 hours."
hmmm... this could be good... what do you think?
I do think a Poly Plant ;-) could be a good idea. I think before that can happen we need to have a more regimented recycling system though. I don't think we can just pop up poly plants without people understand the importance of recycling. Another possible benefit to a poly plant would be that more items that we recycle would actually be recycled. This is from a long time ago but when I was in high school I had a friend who was the "student seat" on the Edmond City Council. Back then he found out only 20-30% of the stuff we put in recycle bins was being recycled. The rest was just going to the dump with the other trash. If we had certain recycling plants for certain products maybe more stuff can be recycled.
Delete"According to the 2008 report, during the U.S. generated approximately 250 million tons of trash. Of that amount, the average daily waste per citizen was 4 1/2 pounds of trash a day. Only 1 1/2 pounds of trash per person is actually placed into the recycle waste disposal system." You are correct my friend, it seems like we need to have some grants set aside for reseach to be done. There has to be a way to create a chemical that can break down these materials that are hurting the enviroment, we can make everything else?
DeleteBut then the new question is will that new chemical be dangerous to the environment? Maybe some research can be done in the digestive juices of some plants that dissolve bugs. If it's strong enough to dissolve anthropods, then maybe if enhanced it could dissolve our waste as well.
DeleteIf we make the chemical, we would just have to make sure to chose molecules that are not going to make an end product that will be harmful. This is obviously an experiment for scientists
DeleteI really enjoyed reading the information you provided on upcycling and why certain products like 4-Aminobiphenyl is careful to use in products and why. I too thought the Patagonia video was extremely interesting in how they produce their fleeces, but what I wondered after catching up on the readings is what the long term effects are of this product on human skin? I only wonder this because in the reading Cradle to Cradle it stated, “DesignTex first proposed that we consider cotton combined with PET fibers from recycled soda bottles. But when we looked carefully at the potential long-term design legacy, we discovered some disturbing facts. First, as we have mentioned, upholstery abrades during normal use, and so our design and to allow for the possibility that particles might be inhaled or swallowed. The PET would not go back to the soil safely, and the cotton could not be circulated in industrial cycles. The combination would be yet another monstrous hybrid, adding junk to a landfill, and it might also be dangerous.” Do you think that these same effects could happen with the Patagonia fleeces?
ReplyDeleteHonestly no. I"m going to assume that it had effects on the skin because of the combination of polyester and cotton. I looked up the effects polyester itself has on the skin and it is very rare for anyone to become irritated. So those people probably had some sort of allergy to it.
ReplyDeleteAlso sorry everyone if you haven't been able to read part of my blog. I don't understand why this thing puts some font in one color and one font in another. If you know how to change that please let me know.
ReplyDeleteYou know, you make a great point about how it is up to the users of these products, as well as the people implementing these products to think about what possibilities they have to the upcycling process. You say that upcycling is typically only possible if the products used are pure substances, but what percentage of the textiles we use are actually pure. I understand that there are some ways of extracting substances from others in the recycling process, but have you seen anything explaining the strength of these fibers afterwards?
ReplyDeleteI looked up a few sites that talked about cotton polyester combinations and it didn't mention anything about how they react after they are taken apart. BUT i would assume that since it is a man made substance, and cotton is organic, that they would not genetically (chemically?) bond so i would assume that they would be the same strength after taken apart.
Delete