Every action bears a consequence.
This concept statement really applies to the idea of the industry continuum. The article, Industrial Ecology, really summarizes this reoccurring theme and states “every industrial activity is linked to thousands of other transactions and activities and to their environmental impacts.” Every decision our apparel, textile or interior industry manufacturers make, will eventually affect everyone and everything in our environment. Being involved in the industry, we must learn how to answer and fulfill customers needs while trying to remain as sustainable as possible. This idea of maintaining a balance with the two is called industrial ecology (IE).
One of the major problems I feel needs to be addressed is motivating consumers to take the initiative to actually recycle materials. How do we get others to step up to the challenge of practicing recycling and make it a part of their daily lives? One concept that I think will benefit the consumers, manufacturers and the environment is through a rewards program.
In the chapter, How Will We Conduct Business?, Janine Benyus discusses 10 key principles that will help us achieve a more sustainable future. The two concepts that pertain to my idea of rewarding consumers are 1. use waste as a resource and 2. optimize rather than maximize.
The principle of using waste as a resource is the primary inspiration for my sustainable idea. Benyus asks the question, “what happens when a product leaves the manufacturer’s gates and passes to the consumer and finally to the trash can?” The answer I have come up with is proposing a “middle man” type of service. I think that apparel and interior stores should practice a rewards program of taking back used products or shopping bags and offering either a discount or store credit. This will address the issue of motivating consumers to recycle and help cut down on products being thrown out because they are no longer relevant in the person’s life.
The second principle that influenced my concept is the idea of optimizing rather than maximizing. This principle will help the manufacturers and the industry emphasize the importance of quality and not quantity. Let’s say, before a store implements this rewards concept, a consumer purchases the same shirt in multiple different colors and patterns because they think they will wear them all. Well most of the time when this happens, most people will wear one of the colors regularly and therefore they have increased their waste when they go to throw out their shirts when they are no longer trendy. By offering this system, the consumer can return the shirts to the store and the store can then turn around and recycle them to the manufacturer and then the manufacturer can take the necessary steps to reuse the materials in new products.
I feel these principles and reward concept will help cut down on product waste and help shift our mental modes towards a more sustainable future.
Kelli, your blog this week is great! I like your creative idea about a rewards program to encourage consumers to recycle and give back to the environment. The two strategies you chose in the How Will We Conduct Business seem to work well with this plan you have come up with. I believe that the strategy "Use materials sparingly," is another good strategy that this idea can implement. Instead of coming out with so many colors of one product, they can just design one or two colors of that product to prevent people from buying duplicates of the same shirt just in different colors. It can also help the manufacturers and the environment because the manufacturers will not have to spend so much time taking the garments apart and using them for something else. They will be saving themselves time and energy. It will also benefit the stores because they will not have to be giving out so many rewards for customers recycling. This is a great innovation and I think some retail stores should take this into consideration.
ReplyDeleteKelli, I really like your concepts this week! There does need to be a way for more people to realize that recycling needs to happen and who doesn't like to save money by doing so!? Great idea!! I also believe that clothing needs to be made out materials that can biodegrade and be helpful to earth because we all know that there will be those few who don't like to shop and would rather just throw things out because of the hassel and then it will depend on how often we will be able to continue to recycle those materials too.
ReplyDeleteKelli,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your concept! I think that consumers definitely need an incentive to begin making changes when it comes to sustainability. I would also like to suggest an option for online shoppers. Perhaps retailers could include a pre-paid shipping label with all of their orders that would allow consumers to ship back used products in the box that they received their new product in. This way, the box does not get thrown away and the online consumer has the opportunity to take part in the same kind of programs available in-store. I appreciated the incorporation of the IE principles, it's interesting to see all the different ways that they can be applied.
Kelli,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog this week! I think we have similar ideas! I definitely think that a rewards system is a great incentive for customers. I talked about the recycling of materials for the producers to use again, but the packaging is just as much a part of the sustainability as the product. I think that the packaging aspect is often over-looked and I like that you are making it an important issue to focus on. I also really like Beth's suggestions for the online shoppers. Thanks for addressing this issue!