Thursday, June 21, 2012

For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent.


“The World is at your finger tips” I am sure we have all heard this saying before! Am I right? My question is how do you think the world can be at your finger tips? A college degree, Your dream Job. The biggest and nicest house in town, Money? I feel like many would say money, which would help one achieve the materialistic desires one might have. Is money what we value? Is money what we really need? These are all the questions that have been running through my head regarding our economy and our culture in regards to sustainable design and I believe I just might have found the answers. 
Today our world seems to be constantly hypnotized into the new latest and greatest products out in the market. Whether that be a new phone, a new pair of hip jeans, the new couch that everyone must have to make any room complete, consumers are repeatedly needing and wanting something new and something better. This would not be a concern if it were not for the speed at which consumers want is turning over. Every season there are new clothes to buy and old ones to throw out, there are new color pallets and decorative house sets to update your home, what you have is never good enough for the present and therefore items are being thrown into the past at an unhealthy rate and in most cases an unhealthy way. In result this is causing harm to the Earth. So what value does the new and improved value really hold to us and is this the right kind of value we should be valuing? The hard cold answer is simply no. 



What we should be valuing is the planet on which we are trying to sustain our lives on. To understand this we need to understand our needs as human beings/consumers. According to Ann Thorpe, in her book The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability, Physical survival, communication with others, creating survival and having a sense of self are the needs humans have. “Among the many different categorizations of human needs, a representative list includes substance, protection, affection, understanding participation, leisure, creation, identity, and freedom.” The most important thing to understand is that all of these need promote well-being which as established in the previous two weeks is what sustainability promotes as well. There is a common and natural link to human needs and sustainable practices. Our needs are apart of our culture and culture is apart of nature. “...Nature provides an Important element of cultural sustainability.” So if your are catching my drift in order to fulfill our human needs we have to keep nature (aka the Earth) in tip top shape and because we need to do this through sustainable practices we should find our true value in the place we call our home.  



Sadly our world has gone down a path in which unsustainable practices are demolishing our ecosystems. The market is not concerned about this one bit and this is mostly because the conditions brought on by all the products sold and made in the market are  basically ignored. This can be understood through the concept of zero price. Ann Thorpe explains this by stating that because we do not pay money to use the ecosystems we are provided by nature, nature then has no value. With nature being seen as having no monetary value, prices of products do not reflect the value of nature. This is why sustainable products become so expensive. If the positive value we contributed towards the decision of pricing of a sustainable product, the price of that product would probable decrease. If it did not decrease at least the value of a sustainable product would be obviously increased. This applies to the situation when looking at it vise versa as well. “,,,yet the market counts these as “free” because we don't pay money for them. Nature also has value for reasons other than being useful to people- like all life-forms, it has intrinsic value, meaning value for just existing.” Efforts have been made to change the views of sustainable products as they are associated with high prices. One method is artificial prices, this is when consumers are asked how much they would be willing to pay to sustain nature, counting in the value nature has for that particular product. Another method that could be used is “democratic process and other collective decision-making methods available largely through public and nonprofit organizations”(Thorpe) I was not able to find any information about current companies in the interiors field that have tried either one of these methods but I think that through studies these practices might be an effective way to determine some product prices.
I was able to find several companies and firms that are contributing to nature and holding high value in their sustainable practices. The video and website links are just are just some of the companies I found that are striving to be green.


Websites for sustainable Interior design Company links:




The moral of the story here today is to really take a look at what you hold dear and valuable. Are these things what you should be valuing? The one thing we should value greatly is our planet on which we live and to do that we need to respect nature and give back through sustainable designs and practices. Doing this will help man kind fulfill our needs to continue on with our lives. The world needs a change and for changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent. 

12 comments:

  1. Kaitlin,

    Holy great blog! You did an excellent job at getting me interested in the first paragraph. I really thin you're correct whenever you said the most important thing to a lot of people would be to have money at their finger tips. I wrote something similar to that about materialism in my blog. Several people with millions of dollars, more than likely don't even think twice about wanting to spend their money on something to help the environment. Maybe a charity such as kids with cancer, building wells in Africa, etc. But what would make them want to donate to help the environment they take for granted? I like how they talked about nonprofit organizations in Ann Thorpes book, because I truly believe once those organizations start trending, they will be the "thing" to donate your charity money towards. I found a few nonprofit organizations like Second Nature, I posted a video on my blog you'll have to watch. Maybe they have the right idea? Another great blog! I'm glad you were one of my blog buddies :)

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    1. Thank you for your comment Hannah! I have to enjoyed having you as a blogging buddY! I really enjoy your observation and comparison of how people are more than willing to step out and donate for the needy and such! It is true that people in general would be more willing to give to these organizations than they would giving the money for a sustainable product. I think a reason for this might simply be that consumers are not as informed as they should be and in fault they are unsure about spending more. I think that everyone in general need to get the nitty gritty details instead of just knowing that "go green" is good. Due to more people knowing more about the types of charities and organizations you mentioned might be part of why those not knowing much about sustainability are not willing to give more to that too.

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  2. Hi, Kaitlan;
    I love that quote! Can you explain how these companies you have cited embody some of the sustainable design approaches discussed by Thorpe? Thanks!

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    1. Hello Dr. Armstrong,

      To be honest I was really just focusing on the fact that those companies were emerging themselves in sustainable practices and giving back to nature. I would be more than happy to research the companies more though and answer your question correctly! I will not be able to reply again until later tomorrow evening but I will try to apply our readings from Thorpe more.

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    2. Dr. Armstrong,

      I found that the company Mermet that I mentioned before are GREENGUARD and Okeo-TEx certified in the materials they use. GREENGUARD certification is all about Indoor air quality and reducing VOC's in materials. Okeo-Tex Is all about the harmful chemicals in and used to produce textiles. They have a motto of Confidence in textiles, they strive for safe textiles from beginning to end.

      JLA Designs focus on sustainable design practices in general by trying to reduce negative impacts on the environment, reduce waste, reduce non-renewable resources, and in all promote health through buildings and design. All of the employees is a member of the USCBC and some are LEED AP professionals and environmental designers.

      Cirqa Vinyl wall coverings are made to be long lasting and therefore slowing down the fast pace most of our industries have adopted in designs. Their wall coverings are also can be recycled and reclaimed through a program call the Second-Look. Cirqua also recognizes that their vinyl wall coverings take less energy to produce compared to other common alternatives and their vinyl is naturally efficient resource that is 57% salt (kind of crazy to think about)

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  3. Kaitlan,

    Great blog! I really enjoyed your discussion on the "zero price." I found that to to be very interesting as well when I was reading. I think the system of measuring economic growth is wack! How in the world they are getting by with not counting the negative actions we are taking towards nature is beyond me! If we destroy nature, there will never be any more growth. We need nature to grow. Why do you think that they are still using this system? I believe that it is because our world is so focused on money that anything you can put a price on is worth something! Well, what about nature? It's worth so much more than any of the overpriced products that are just earning money for companies, yet destroying our environment. If we could come up with a way to get the prices of sustainable products down, I think we could take a step towards embodying the value of nature. In the Designer's Atlas, Thorpe says "those who try to value nature (or other unpriced but infinitely valuable things) in this way often find that in a market context their valuations are ignored as extreme and unreasonable." Our current approach is failing and is definitely an obstacle when it comes to designing/selling sustainable products! They have already started labeling products as sustainable but what else do you think they could do to promote these products and start making a positive growth for nature?

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    1. Hi There Jessica! THank you for your nice comment! I have to say I too think that the issues with zero price are quite ridiculous but I honestly had not known anything about this before reading this week. It makes me sad, and it makes me even more sad that this system is still being used. To answer your question I think the reason this system is still active is because it is easier to those controlling it. Easier not just monetarily but like Thorpe says it is easier to deny that we are personally contributing to the downfall of earth. If someone were to really account for all of nature in monetary value it would be a major blow and make someone feel bad and so in the end its just avoided for that reason. I agree with you when you say our current approach is not working when sustainable design is in play! To help this, as I have said before, I think informing consumers is the best way to conduct a spark for change. Maybe a campaign or something could be developed to do this too...

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  4. You bring up a good point, that it is easier than pointing out the flaws. Bringing up the fact that we have been living unsustainably and people have been doing wrong would be a huge downfall and as Thorpe said in the Atlas about how everyone likes to feel like they are participating and they are doing a good cause, pointing out the fact that this system is corrupt and not actually a good measurement of economic growth would have the opposite effect!

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  5. Kaitlin,

    I completely agree society has become “hypnotized into the new latest and greatest products”, I am guilty of this seasonal purchasing and rarely wearing my last years purchases. Why do we feel the need to keep changing our closets, and why do designers feel the need to set trends instead of lasting designs? I would like to keep my clothes for longer than I do, but it just seems that the fashion industry just keeps on changing the “style” or “look.” As Hannah put in her blog, the designers in the industry have become the “pushers” who are only looking to sell more and more merchandise instead of allowing the customer to make smart long-term choices. Why can’t design be more focused on longevity for apparel? I would be more willing to spend $50 on a shirt that would last me five years than a shirt that costs $30 that lasts only a season. This is where I hope designers will start making a change. I know that some clothes come back into style, but this usually takes a decade or so, and by then most of the clothes have been discarded or thrown away. If we could make clothes for the long term I believe the world would be happier. No more of this material obsession, but a simplistic peace of mind. I really enjoyed your blog, but I would like to learn more about how I could incorporate these formulas and ideas into my life. Can you think of any ways we as students can help move toward a more sustainable path? Also, how can I utilize and protect nature when I as a student go through so many material resources every year? I feel like we are the future, and as you said in your blog you were “not able to find any info about current companies that have tried the methods that keep the value of nature in their products” so how can we try to utilize these values for ourselves? Great job, Kaitlin!

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    1. Hello Haley!
      Thank you for your comment! To answer your questions I think that you can apply the formulas and ideas into your life by primarily evaluating what you value and how those things that your value contribute to your well being. This is the mindset I believe we should have as designers for our consumers. I think as students what we can start to do is inform others about the issues arising due to wastefulness and unsustainable practices and also as students we can strive to apply what we are learning in projects and in gaining understanding eventually apply these things in the real world when we are designers. As far as protecting nature as a student I think practicing methods of recycling and reusing as we learned last week would be a start! Great questions! Thank you! I hope you find my answers useful.

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    2. Kaitlin,

      Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! I find it interesting to find out other peoples ideas about how we can all help. I think your statement about "evaluating what you value and how those things that you value contribute to your well being" is exactly correct. We do have to evaluate before we act. We will be more passionate about what we do to help as designers and students if this is achieved. I hope to incorporate more of the ideas I learned in this class next year in studio, and I am really excited to see what comes from it! I agree, the three "r's" is the best way we can help protect nature. And, I do find your answer's very useful. Thanks!

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