Wye Valley

Good day out and some interesting information/facts about beer. It has simple ingredients: water, hop, barley and yeast. I didn't know that the taste of beer is much better when used hard water, as it has high concentration of calcium.

I am not a drinker of British Beer but I am glad to hear that it started to be consumed alongside food, and not on its own. I believe that it might even enhance the taste of certain type of food..

So the ingredients are local, which is great and the husk after production returns to farmers as a compost - cradle to cradle solution! unfortunately as yet the concept of sustainable packaging and recycling isn't in place. The producers are very passionate about their beer and I hope that with time the whole process will have cradle to cradle solution!

Highlights of some points to remember when creating the packaging:

Flexibility on content (2 bottles, 1 condiment or 1 bottle 2 condiments), Simple design with premium look (aesthetics), crafted product, Hierarchy (no ingredients, no legal stuff, as single items are sold with those info.), Sustainability, Audience - legal drinkers but local market.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

My wise parents always told me: OBSERVE ANTS AND LEARN FROM THEM.

That was and still is a very shrewd advice, and definitely should apply to all of us. 

These hardworking little creatures create a very efficient and sustainable environment not only for themselves but also around them.

 

TO ALL DESIGNERS!!

THINK 5Rs: 

1. RESTORE: Restoring the state of the world and bringing natural cycles back together – requires a big positive attitude. And WE, as designers are making a huge impact. When creating a design think about the materials; pick raw materials which help to reverse the damage or add to ecosystems. Using renewable energy will help restoration also

2. RESPECT: Respect is paramount. Think of the whole process of making things – all the way from the material extraction, production, sales and user to the end. Think of the people who are involved, what is being damage all the way along, does the process involve toxic chemicals that seriously harms all living species? Do the research! And explore.

3. REDUCE: Reduce the use of materials and choose the one with no toxic content (or reduced). Reduce energy needed.  Create “right size” packaging.

4. REUSE: Think “out of the box” and create with the reuse in mind, and the satisfaction will come not only for the user but also for the planet.

5. RECOVER: It means - return back into production process or return to Mother Nature. To do so we need to start thinking, examining the whole process as well as use only recycled substrates and creating products accordingly with Nature. Recovery can be achieved through reuse and recycling which in effect will conserve both: the energy and resources.

METALS

THE WAY WE USE MATERIALS AND ITS TRUE VALUE

"STORY OF STUFF" - HOW THINGS WORK...

 The price of a product doesn't AT ALL reflects THE REAL cost of production like cost of materials, resources, labor - often using foreign countries like China or India.


Materials Economy - raw materials from which products are made. And what keeps it going?? The marketing and sales which apart from satisfied customer they produce vast amount of waste - in its negative form. This is a system that is linear and it doesn't work. In fact it is in crisis! The problem?? Peoples action: some more important than others. Government, for example should look after, care for us...but they don't fulfill the criteria of a carer. Then - Corporations, they are much larger than government. And the Government pleases them more than us.

It all starts with EXTRACTION - natural resource exploitation, in other words TRASHING THE EARTH! The thing is, our resources are finite and this action creates disastrous effects.
In USA only 4% of original forests are left and 40% of water waste is undrinkable. The problem is that we use more than we should to the point of abusing: 5% of  USA citizens use 30% of resources and creating 30% of waste!
It is shocking to know that in Amazon alone 2000 trees a MINUTE are being cut!

So the raw resources are being put into PRODUCTION: used energy mixes toxic chemicals (there are 100, 000 synthetic chemicals used - and only few tested for heath impact!) in with natural resources to create toxic products.
B.F.R's - brominated flame retardants - chemicals that make materials more fire proof but are EXTREMELY NEUROTOXIC, effecting our brain. And they can be found on our pillows. 
Just wonder if Government sleeps on them?..perhaps, that is why many retarded decisions are being made.

Breast's milk is at the top of food chains with the highest contaminates...The most nurturing act and it is violated. The youngest, most vulnerable children are being contaminated with toxins and well, I would ask: how truly beneficial is breast feeding?? 

Question: Who would work in a toxic environment? People with no choice. People desperate to support their families. They are willing to work in no matter how toxic conditions there may be.
The production process not only wastes thee resources but also wastes peoples.


The production of course produces pollution: USA - at least 4billions of lbs. a year! 


Then there is DISTRIBUTION - sale of the trash ASAP and cheaply - how is that possible ?? By EXTERNALIZING THE COST: which means making profit from cheap labor like for example children and using materials from different countries. In Kongo, many children abandon school because they have to go work and earn the money. And these facts are not included in the product description. It is usually: MADE IN CHINA or MADE IN INDIA or somewhere else! 

The thing is, not many of us think about the process BEFORE reaching us.

GOLDEN ARROW OF CONSUMPTION comes next  - the real value of an American is how much he/she consumes, well that applies to all of us. Buy, buy and buy.... feeling depressed? go shopping; feeling good? go shopping!...and 99% of it is trash, non recyclable material. 

After II WW to boost the economy the Government and the Corporations decided to make consumption the way of life; buying became some sort of ritual and had spiritual values.   President Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisors Chairman said that “The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods.”
They used 2 strategies: PLANNED OBSOLESCENT and PERCEIVED OBSOLESCENCE.
Planned obsolescence has its life shelf which means, when a product is dumped it can't be repaired or the cost of repair is more expensive than buying a new one. 
Perceived obsolescence convinces us to throw away the stuff that still works but isn't "fashionable" anymore.

Advertisements, and media in general, plays a big role in this.
3,000 a day we are bombarded with all sorts of adverts trying to convince us to go and buy "cradle to grave" type of stuff. In USA 2 main activities people do is watch TV and shop. Is that what makes them/us happy???


DEFINITELY NOT ME. 


What happens to the stuff we buy? We dispose it to recycling bin, then it gets into incinerators and DUMPED in a landfill. In effect we get pollution, contaminated waters, change of climate, dioxins - super toxins - lethal man made substances. It is CRADLE TO GRAVE SOLUTION.
And even these materials go into recycling they are not recyclable because they have other components in them like toxins.


The solution needs to be based on sustainability and equity, it involves new way of thinking like Green Chemistry (http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/) , Renewable Energy, Local Economies. 
And it is possible, as it is happening already.