Next level of circular shopping
Sustainable consumption advances to next level,
If we ever get around to penning a futuristic Hollywood blockbuster, we’d include a scene at a mall where characters drop used clothes into a machine, and a brand- new pair of jeans comes out.
The sporting goods store would have empty shelves — just a lineup of 3D printers producing custom sneakers.
We’d better start that screenplay soon because our sci- fi imaginings aren’t so far- fetched anymore. The future of innovative, eco- friendly consumption is ready for liftoff. And in some cases, it’s already at your local shopping centre.
Levi Strauss outlets in the U. S. now have bins for shoppers to drop off old clothes that are then recycled into insulation, or cushion filling. Adidas has a new shoe made entirely from plastic waste recovered from oceans. Lego is exploring ways to build its blocks with a non- plastic alternative, and Carlsberg will soon be serving up its beer in biodegradable bottles.
These are early entrants into the so- called “circular economy,” which could completely reduce the waste we produce and the resources we consume. The movement emphasizes buying less stuff in favour of sharing, repairing and outright reinvention.
Instead of tossing used products in the trash, soon technology will allow us to reuse, restore and recycle everything imaginable, says Vanessa Timmer, executive director of the Vancouver environmental think- tank One Earth.
California’s Global Footprint Network estimates that humans currently consume 50 per cent more resources than the Earth can produce. By 2050 we’ll need three planets to provide for the projected population of 9.6 billion, according to the United Nations.
Massive steps forward in technology are quickly making sure we don’t have to get our water ( and other resources), from Mars. We’re especially awed with recent strides in 3D printing that produce clothes and shoes generated to fit you perfectly.
It gets better. In the near future, you’ll be able to print your own shoes and wardrobe at home, using plastic from your recycling bin. And it’s a Canadian invention to boot.
The ProtoCycler was created this spring by engineering students at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. It looks like a toaster oven, but grinds up household plastic — like pop bottles and Lego pieces — then melts them down, spitting out the “filament” material that goes into a 3D printer.
Many of us have seen compostable plastic products, like plates made from corn. The innovation is great for reducing oil consumption, but requires whole fields dedicated to growing coffee cups. Thanks to new technology, now bio- plastics can be made with food scraps. Just this year, researchers in Spain devised plastic from tomato peels that are discarded during canning. And a U. S. company is using lemons and other citrus fruit to turn old Styrofoam into new plastic. Given that globally, we produce 300 million tonnes of plastic every year, and up to 43 per cent of it goes into landfills, these transformations couldn’t come sooner.
While we’re waiting for the sustainable shopping revolution to fully unfold, Canadian store shelves are already stocked with items that meet the high standards of the circular economy. Look for “cradle- to- cradle certified” products from Aveda in the beauty care aisle, Method in the cleaning section, and compostable gDiapers for baby.