The Myth About Renewable Materials
Much of what we experience as children, good and bad, shapes the way we see the world. It was certainly my experience. Growing up on a small farm taught me the benefits of hard work and resourcefulness, but it also gave me a close relationship with the environment and wildlife, as well as an appreciation of how volatile and vulnerable nature can be. Farming is a 24/7 profession that must react and adapt to the seasons and weather. While you can control and mitigate against specific problems, a successful year is ultimately determined by how kind the weather has been. It is a constant reminder that the natural world and the human world are one and the same thing, and actions have consequences.
Growing up in the 1990s, my school had a very good art and design department. It was grossly underfunded, but the teachers were committed and passionate about their subjects. We were taught elementary facts about renewable materials such as timber and natural fibres, and non-renewable materials derived from oil and ore like plastics and metals. The key difference we were told is that non-renewables are used up over time, while renewables regrow and provide us with a sustained, long term supply of resources. In basic terms, it is a valid distinction; however, this teaching is problematic in terms of design education and our understanding of materials. It leads to generations of children believing that renewables are plentiful and unproblematic. After all, they are nature’s bounty, replenished on an annual basis, providing materials for food, shelter, clothing, packaging and tools. I think this is broadly the view of society as a whole — that natural materials are better from an environmental perspective — and it plays out in how brands and retailers communicate with their customers. Often, companies bundle terms together such as eco, natural, sustainable, eco-friendly or green when they package or advertise products. They reinforce the assumption that using ‘natural’ materials is good for the environment. That the impact of how we grow and harvest is somehow irrelevant.
The truth is that the consumption of renewables can be highly problematic. Non-renewables such as oil, rare earth minerals and ore, have a unique set of problems in terms of extraction, but they are below ground. In most cases, they lie dormant and have minimal impact, only becoming a problem at the point of extraction. But renewables are made from organic living matter, entwined in nature, supporting the delicately balanced ecosystems on which many creatures, organisms and plants depend. Human interventions with the natural world invariably have consequences, and when large volumes of materials are wanted quickly and cheaply then the consequences can be catastrophic. Consumption of both renewables and non-renewables can be enormously damaging when we consume and dispose of them in huge volumes, but also when we don’t understand the origin of materials and the challenges linked to harvesting/extraction.
But is this problem a new one? After all, humans have been using these materials for hundreds of years, and consumerism is not new. Well, we are now in a unique period where demand is on a scale like at no other stage in human history. Even compared with a few decades ago, consumption is off the charts. The global population has roughly trebled between 1950 and 2020, and a disposable, throwaway culture now permeates every facet of society and almost every product we use.
As we move further into the 21st century, we can no longer accept the idea that renewables are plentiful and unimpactful. The idea that we can transition away from non-renewable materials like plastics and metals and replace them with renewables is only a short-term sticking plaster solution. Consumption is too high. The world is full of amazing materials — renewables and non-renewables — that enable us to explore the very edges of human imagination and ingenuity. But we must respect where the material comes from, design and build with quality in mind, preserve, value, and restore our products, and eliminate waste. Whether we are dealing with renewable or non-renewable materials, the principles remain the same.