Working with companies like Tricycle, Rock/Creek and Sequatchie Cove Farm — companies with histories of concern for the environment, renewable resources and reduced waste — has made me very aware of how unaware I have been about the effects of our design proposals and products.

Certainly, it has always been my goal with Widgets & Stone to create a solution or a product that is functional, beautiful and unusual — something that people would want to keep and not throw away. But even then, one can only keep a design artifact for so long. Not all of us create things that end up in the archives of the Cooper-Hewitt. And even if we do, the Cooper-Hewitt does not want all 1000 or 5000 copies that were in the original print run. It all eventually ends up in a landfill somewhere.

So what's a graphic designer to do? Is it enough to specify soy or vegetable based inks on paper that is biodegradable or 100% recycleable? What about using plastics made only of corn or other biodegradable materials? Or, what if I only design web sites now and therefore produce no trash — except for the horrifically unrecycleable computer I use to make it?

I think, perhaps, the answer lies more in my role as a consumer than my role as a designer. As I prepare a meal each night for my family, I quietly curse the manufacturers who have seen fit to hermetically seal all kinds of food products in virtually impenetrable plastics and wonder what the world was like before... Could my choice to purchase locally produced items help reduce this kind of waste? My community supported agriculture (CSA) box is all the packaging I need to cart home my tomatoes, okra, basil, eggplants, and much more. And I can reuse it every week too. Wouldn't it also help reduce fossil fuel use (and therefore carbon emissions) to purchase locally as well? I wonder what else it might do...

Maybe part of my job as a designer is to encourage my partners to consider creative and/or resource alternatives to achieve their goals of reaching new customers. Maybe a good deal of my job is to figure out more sustainable methods for them. And me.

All of this is not to say that we should be eliminating waste. On the contrary, I believe waste is essential. However, our goal with waste should be the way it works in the natural world: one thing’s death and decay equals fertile soil for another thing’s growth and life. As McDonough and Braungart put it, “waste = food”. We should strive for the point where waste is useful in culivating life.

And perhaps one day the title of “trash designer” will really be a good thing.

Paul, Good thoughts. Visit sustainability.aiga.org if you have a chance. You might even want to post there.

You are right that the issues are bigger than ink or paper. They're about process, use and necessity.

Great post Paul. Especially interested in this line:
"what if I only design web sites now and therefore produce no trash — except for the horrifically unrecycleable computer I use to make it? I think, perhaps, the answer lies more in my role as a consumer than my role as a designer."

I'm inclined to agree not only because our lives are more than what happens 8-5, but also because of ways that the big picture is changing.

Just this morning I heard a couple of designers talking about how most design today is a recycling of old ideas... although in new ways. Sampling. Not that this is a bad thing, they were simply asking "What are going to be the hallmarks of early 21st century design?"

I believe that when we look back on these years the hallmarks may be less about new styles or conceptual framework than the democratization of everything that is already "out there". Perhaps, after all, there hasn't actually been anything truly new in thousands of years, it's just that the critical mass has been exposed to different ideas as global awareness has grown. Art Deco happened in part because someone liked beautiful Aztec pieces, and popularized it (good and bad to that). Today as I sit in my office in Chattanooga I can sample concepts from all over the world.

In some ways "new" just means "new to us."

But what is different, has changed, is that this reservoir of design is now available to many people in terms of access and affordability. Materials has a lot to do with this as does marketing.

In other words - our role as consumers is more closely related to our role as design community than ever - not only 8-5.

Is sustainability becoming part of this democratization? How would it influence style as well as substance? Your thoughts on designing (and shopping) with reuse in mind certainly are a start. Rethink, reuse, upcycle.

Paul, I share your sentiments... good post. especially since you didn't bother using the word "green" or "global warming"

I love the idea of a waste being useful to cultivate life and that of a simple local consumer.

I should also note that it is very refreshing to have business partners (that is clients from the commercial sector) demanding that our design solutions take these issues into account.

Great post. Lately, I've been thinking about how much my personal shopping/lifestyle habits contribute to trashing the planet. I'm slowly but surely trying to ease my way into a more responsible lifestyle (less plastic packaging, recycling, and so forth).

What is a CSA box?

Daniel, ‘CSA box’ is a “Community Supported Agriculture” box — in this case meaning that I am paying (as part of our local community, along with others) a local farmer for a “share” of his crops. The box is simply the vehicle we use to collect the various fruits and veggies from the farmer to carry it home. It could be a bag or something else... The key is that it is minimal packaging, and reuseable as well.

Sustainability is a huge trend in the market today. It's being promoted everywhere. However, I hesitate to call it a trend. It seems like this slowly acceptable idea that just makes sense. It's very exciting to know that so many people from all walks of life are trying to make a difference. However, I think like Paul and many others realizing that we aren't doing our best to help, I'm a little disappointed at my lack of effort. I'm enthusiastic about working with companies like Tricycle. I stand behind Paul's concerned effort to expand upon this idea of sustainability, and I would like to challenge other designers to make the same effort. There's no reason why we can't be smarter decision makers.

Paul

Great read. Making dinner for the family each night gets me to thinking, it's all about the underground food movement. "The revolution will not be microwaved." Plus, you ought to get rid of all those pesky artificial flavors, colors & preservatives and go Feingold, at least level one.

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Hi guys, if you're at all interested, there's a magazine that I picked up recently called "GOOD" (yes the url is catchy: goodmagazine.com ), and it's all about sustainability in design, and how design can have a higher calling and cause. It goes into depth on the international design scene and what designers are personally doing to work towards sustainability (note, not green, sustainable).

The neatest aspect of this is probably the fact that it's so broad, including architecture, graphic design, product design, etc... yet manages to be completely approachable to all audiences.

The cover of the issue was fluorescent orange with a picture of an AK-47 and the words: "Is there Design this Good that doesn't Kill People?"

It's pretty rad, check it out if you've got the time.

:: nicole ::