Understanding the Journey of Things.

Whenever we are trying to introduce a new concept or new habits to improve a certain area in our lifestyle, it is important to properly appreciate what motivates our choices. And why we are making those choices in the first place. Understanding the journey of things is a necessary step to refine our mindset and set ourselves for success for a sustainable lifestyle.

Embarking a Journey.

In our quest to a more sustainable living we are inevitably faced with the basic concepts of banning single use items, conserving our resources, using renewable energy, buying local, etc. Buying local you said ? Sure ! But why again ? What’s wrong with importing goods anyway ? In concrete terms, how sourcing products locally is going to help the health of our planet ?

Let’s start by having a better look and try understanding the journey of things. The very things that surround us at home.

Triggering a Process.

Let’s say we decided to treat ourselves with a brand new mug to start the New Year on the right foot. We find a cute one online through a major marketplace. The price is reasonable, 5 dollars plus taxes, shipping included, we like it, sold. We place our order.

So now, although the concept has been greatly simplified for the sake of the exercise, let’s trace the voyage of our mug…

Fulfilling a Wish.

The marketplace requests the manufacturing plant (located overseas, for the specific mug we chose) to provide them with the item selected. So the factory begins the process of making the mug. Which of course really is an incessant flow rather than made-to-order process.

Mass production ceramics are nowadays modeled from industrial mixtures composed of several powdered elements and a liquid base, with a glazed finish. Raw materials are ordered in from the suppliers. They are handled, packed and shipped to the manufacturing facility via various means, with a significant ecological footprint involving a substantial energy consumption. Among the resources required is the use of electricity, to power any equipment involved in the process from shipping containers to loading equipment. We can also mention the use of petroleum by-products—with associated emission of greenhouse gases—for the transportation of materials, and much much more.

Exponential Ecological Footprint.

And so the core materials are received and ready to be processed by the factory. The factory itself needs power to operate its machines, lights, HVAC systems, etc. in order to meet health and safety standards, as thousands of workers are operating in line to meet production requirements. Along the process, waste is being relentlessly generated, which will require further treatment and processing, packing and handling.

Once manufactured, our mug is packaged and sent to a warehouse (still located overseas) for space management. Its packaging involved the production of wrapping materials. When not made onsite, those fall within the incessant ballet of handling-packing-shipping of supplies to the factory with further treatment of the waste created in the process.

Back to the storage facility, it generates its own substantial ecological footprint. Requiring power for example, among other resources, to operate its lights, ventilation systems, heating/refrigeration, etc. From the warehouse, our mug is dispatched through the marketplace network via dedicated shipping methods (re: shipping eco-print, take 2).

Once the port of destination has been reached (Halifax Port Authority), the packaged article will be waiting into yet another warehouse within the port (re: warehouse eco-print, take 2)—along with millions of other products to be dispatched to the correct distribution center.

It will be loaded once again onto the most appropriate mean(s) of transportation (Re: shipping eco-print, take 3), moved and then stored at the local distribution centre (Burnside facility) (Re: warehouse eco-print, take 3).

From there, it will be dispatched to the customer (Re: shipping eco-print, take 4), if all goes well.

Reaching Destination.

Our mug just got home. Yeah ! And what a long journey that was. What a lengthy list of resources just vanishing through thin air for one cup to finally enter our household.

But this is not it. We just glided through understanding the journey of things. But let’s briefly go back to the factory of origin.

The Economic Component.

Their demand of materials and resources are prodigious. They require unsustainable amounts of energy to operate. In order to be profitable—and offset the costs associated with production—the articles have to reach a broader audience of potential buyers and a lower price tag is an understandable way to achieve this.

The Sustainability Aspect.

Now, as production numbers rise, quality has to recess in order to meet cost-effectiveness. Result : the end product is not designed to last. It will eventually translate into the item having to be replaced at some point, sooner rather than later, for unfitness. And therefore create the need to purchase a substitute…

So we have our mug. We use it over and over until the design starts to fade, cracks start showing in the glaze, the handle breaks after a few months. So disappointing. We really liked it. Wait, it was only 5 dollars after all : this one will head to the dump and let’s order another one ! And so on, and so forth.

Now let’s face it. Our landfills are loaded with those failed items. Some of them are biodegradable or at least recyclable, most are not. We are constantly feeding our problem with refuse while fueling an overacting consumer society.

Shifting Our Mindset.

A quick look around us while reading this article will make us realize how many of those items we have been acquiring over the years. And what impact we have had on our planet so far. This little ruler laying on top of the desk ? Bought for 2 bucks at the dollar store 3 months ago. Well, the marking really is starting to fade, that’s true. And the plastic is beginning to crack a little, and will probably break within the next few weeks. But, well, it will be easy to replace, it cost us just 2 dollars… Right ?

Of course not. The ecological cost of that item is infinitely greater that what any of us can afford, and our planet is paying the price. Above all, we need to realize that the stakes are higher than just another item being sent to the curb. The issue is not only about adding one broken mug or one faded ruler to the pile. It is about all the resources that have been used, and are continuously wasted, on the process of fabricating that one item we are discarding.

New Beginnings.

Understanding the journey of things, the journey of our things, help us get a new perspective on some aspects we might not have considered before. And seeing the global situation in this light shall not be depressing but rather enlightening. So that we can take the correct steps towards sustainability and initiate the change. What has been done has to be fixed. But we still have the power to improve what comes next to make sure it is done properly, sustainably.

Start small and realistic. Enter the green shift and explore the whys and wherefores of a walk towards sustainability. Make little changes in your everyday life and keep introducing greener habits, one at a time, for a better today and tomorrow.