Sustainability through fewer and better things. It’s a concept based on reducing your impact on the planet by buying less stuff but when you do, be conscious and buy the best quality.
MOMA curator and writer Glenn Adamson wrote an interesting book about it: Fewer, Better Things. A book that can be summed up by the sentiment, that things in our lives should be well made, useful, beautiful and meaningful.
Funny how, good design, minimalism and zero waste have similar values.
Good design is useful, beautiful and considers its impact every step of the way.
Minimalism is about owning what you need and what you value. And not wasting your time or money on stuff that distracts from what is truly important in life.
Zero waste is about making a difference by creating less waste, whether it’s in product design or your lifestyle.
This article could end up in any of the categories of this site, design, minimalism or zero waste. I wasn’t sure myself, so I put in the design category.
Design
Products that we design, make, own and use are one of the biggest factors of how we live on the planet. How we interact, the resources we use, the waste we create and our overall impact on the environment.
First, it starts with our resources, how we extract them and how we use them. Next, the making , manufacturing and assembling process comes into play. After comes the packaging, shipping and distribution. Followed by the marketing and sales process. And in the end, how we use it, how long it’s used and where it ends up. All this adds up to determine our impact on the planet. What we individually consume can have a major impact on our world.
The problem with junk
The overabundance of disposable or low-quality products in our lives is wreaking havoc on the planet and confusing us on what we truly need. We need to disrupt our cultural embrace of cheap disposable items. What we need are fewer, better items that are well crafted and last a lifetime. Sustainability through fewer and better things.
“The reason that we have too many unsatisfying objects in our lives is that we don’t care enough about any single one of them.”
Much like junk food, cheap and disposable products are easy to get but aren’t good for us. The true cost of cheap products and disposables is much greater than their price. They are just trash in transition.
So many products made today aren’t worth the precious resources, effort, time, labor, pollution and environmental footprint that they produce. Not to mention the clutter and space they take up in our lives. Our resources, time and space are too precious for disposable junk.
Mindful and intentional consuming, sustainability through fewer and better things
To be sustainable, we should be mindful and intentional with all the products we bring into our lives. Consider what you really need and what adds value for the long run.
Consuming less can happen when we have stronger, not a weaker attachment to our things. Ideally we have a strong relationship with the products we buy. Knowing or at least being curious of how it’s made, knowing what materials it’s made of and knowing its environmental impact. We should purchase things that we find to be useful, beautiful or meaningful.
“A well-made object is informed by thousands of years of accumulated experiment and know-how.”
Good design and well-made products take into consideration all the years of knowledge, know-how and craftsmanship. Simple quality products that will last and have minimal impact on the environment throughout all of its life cycle. Simple products that do one thing and do it well.
We should respect the things we buy, respect the people that make them, respect all the steps in the process. We should respect its environmental impact from concept to end of life.
These aren’t new concepts. William Morris, a Victorian era writer that championed environmentalism and a pioneer of the arts and crafts movement famously asked his contemporaries to:
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Now is the time, there is no Planet B
As we are seeing the impacts of fossil fuels, climate change and overconsumption in realtime around the world. Now is the time to start, as every little bit counts. The more people that make small changes, the greater the impact.
We have direct influence with our choices. We send a message in every direction and this puts pressure on the system to change. Do it for the planet, do it for your family, do it for kids and future generations. Your choices have a ripple effect.
Remember that we’re all in this together. Being judgemental or righteous isn’t going to create the right kind of ripples. Turn positive ripples into waves, waves into swells and swells into a movement for change.
Final thoughts
From star gazing to old growth forests, from the vast oceans to snow covered mountain tops, from wetlands to deserts, to a tree growing in a city our planet is a beautiful place. A place worth caring for, a place for all to live. More and more people are joining the movement. A movement of caring for the environment that has been around for years. Take a minute and consider William Morris‘ wisdom, from over 100 years ago.
“Surely there is no square mile of earth’s inhabitable surface that is not beautiful in its own way,” “if we men will only abstain from willfully destroying that beauty.”
Sure feels like we are at a crossroad these days or that we are already going down the wrong path. Down the wrong path on a high speed runaway train. Start your own path today, the more people, the better. Every one of us can make a difference with our choices. Choices that get us back on the right path. Choose sustainability, be a mindful and intentional consumer.
Sustainability through fewer and better things.
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Pat
Pat is a Ski Patroller/Avalanche Technician with a keen interest in design and sustainable living due to a longtime passion for the outdoors. Seeing glaciers melt, seasons change, summer skies full of smoke and beach pollution first hand, motivate him to make a difference.
As Yvon Chouinard Founder of Patagonia says “If you are not part of the solution, you are still part of the problem”.