Near the start of this course, I thought sustainability was about being focused on products which maintain environmental safety. Then after researching for my two product reviews and the final research project, I realized that the way that products are manufactured also matters. Some products seem sustainable, yet they are manufactured using methods that can harm the environment.
For example, my second product review was about bamboo fabric because it seemed to be sustainable. In the past, I’ve also heard about how soft bamboo fabric feels compared to other materials for clothes. So this made me interested in learning more about bamboo fabrics. I learned that people think bamboo fabric is sustainable because bamboo fabric is made from bamboo plants. Bamboo plants have many positive factors. They don’t even need much water to grow. Also, bamboo plants grow very quickly. These factors mean that even after people use bamboo to make bamboo fabric, the plant grows back. Then after doing more research on this topic, I realized that bamboo fabric is not fully sustainable. I learned that the manufacturing of bamboo rayon (which is a type of bamboo fabric), harms the environment. While researching for my 2nd product review, I learned that making bamboo rayon needs many toxic chemicals in the process. These toxic chemicals get released into water, resulting in animals that might drink the water or get the water in their eyes when swimming. This is the reason bamboo fabric has a scary side – the manufacturing of it is unsustainable.
Another example: My first product review, as well as the final research project, were both on electric cars. Originally, I used to think that electric cars are truly sustainable products. They seem so eco-friendly because they don’t even release carbon dioxide. Electric cars use batteries for power. I noticed that the public has this image of electric cars as being the perfect solution to global warming. So many people compliment electric cars on their ability to reduce global warming and use less natural resources. After doing more research on electric cars, I realized that they actually have a negative side. Their batteries need lithium and cobalt, which people get through harmful ways of mining. To specify, the methods of mining are surface mining, brine mining, and underground mining. The negative effect that all of these methods have is releasing carbon dioxide because of the machines that dig the Earth for the metals. This contributes to global warming. This shocks people because electric cars have so much respect because their purpose is to reduce global warming. Yet, the manufacturing of the batteries is unsustainable.
After doing research for the electric cars and bamboo fabrics, I learned that although there are many products that are made to save the environment from harm, there can also be manufacturing methods which harm the environment. This is why my definition of sustainability developed to include that products, as well as their manufacturing methods, factor into whether or not a product is truly sustainable.
References:
- Kellogg Kathryn. “Bamboo Fabric: Sustainable or Hype?” Going Zero Waste. 1 Feb 2022. https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/bamboo-fabric-sustainable-or-hype/
- “Bamboo.” CFDA. https://cfda.com/resources/materials/detail/bamboo#:~:text=Processing%20of%20bamboo%20rayon%20can%20have%20harmful,quantities%20of%20water%2C%20toxic%20dyes%2C%20and%20finishing
- Zheng, March. “The Environmental Impacts of Lithium and Cobalt Mining.” Earth.org, 31 March 2023. https://earth.org/lithium-and-cobalt-mining/#:~:text=Relative%20to%20fossil%20fuels%2C%20Cobalt,of%20CO2%20into%20the%20air.