Non-renewable Reources

If  we plan to make the earths natural resources last longer, we must aim to use more of renewable resources available in our products. This will both help to protect our enviornment and will also help look after the supply of products and services. For example, many timber products now carry the FSG (Forset stewardship concil) logo, this means that the timber supply is from renewable,managed forests. Using the logo allows the customer to make informed chocies on there purchases.

The six Rs

Reduce: Reducing the amount of raw materials we use will improve sustainabilty.

Refuse: Refusing to accept extra packaging can make a difference,as can refusing to accept that the easiest way of disposing of products is always the best way.

Re-use: Reusing products is important because they require very little processing, and there for have less impact upon the enviornmet than products from raw materials.

Repair: Think about wether it is always a good idea to buy a whole new product.

Recycle:  Many products can be recylced, and recycling symbols on products and packaging inform the consumer how to dispose of them and how they should be processed.

Rethink: Perhaps it is time for a radical reapprasial of the way we buy and dispose of productsTraditionally,designers and manufacturers have used a range of materials from non-renewable resources. This means that the raw materials such as oil,ores and minerals , are taken from sources that will eventually run out. They are natural resources that have been produced over thousands of years, and so are finite resources. The production and disposal of products made from these matrials can also have a negative impact on the envoirnment, creating things such as carbon dioxide and toxic substances.

Carbon footprints

Everything we produce, buy and use has a carbon footprint: a total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) or other green house gases emitted during the products life time,including its production,use and disposal. Carbon footprints can have a serious impact on climate change and manafacturers should make every effort to minimise these effects.

Fair trade

The fairtrade foundation, set up in the Uk, was set up to help eliminate poverty among farmers and workers in areas of the world where they had not received a fair price for the goods they produced (i.e coco beans, bannanas etc).