The following videos, ‘The story of cosmetics’, ‘The story of bottled water’ and ‘The story of Electronics’ talk of a system in crisis. We live in a word focused on the consumption of ‘stuff’. This involves our daily lives where we are constantly purchasing items that we have been coerced and coned into buying through corporations’ use of advertising and the development of social trends that society has adopted in conjunction with what becomes available to us.
The Story of Cosmetics
The current cosmetics industry has adopted a 1950s mentality where the previously unknown chemicals and toxins used in cosmetics are still being used in today’s products. This shows that these companies still have other agendas when designing and producing these products. Previously they had little knowledge on the harm these toxins have on our body; but now they continue to produce product that are harmful instead of substituting proven beneficial alternatives that are both better for humans and the environment. When toxins are put into something they will no doubt end up in the system of the user – ‘Toxins in, Toxins out’. A new attitude to producing these products is needed. The video suggests the precautionary principle where if there is doubt to the harm a toxin can have on someone or something, it is better not used.
The story of Bottled Water
What lead to the mass consumption of bottled water was the trickery and misleading advertising of 1970 producers, conning people into believing that tap water was unsafe and in some cases ‘carcinogenic’. This method was used to drive profits of companies producing bottled water after they realised that their profits could only reach a certain level, and would flatten out. One of the issues with bottled water is the waste. Most bottles at this point are being discarded in landfills, and/or shipped over seas to countries where infrastructure is not as strong and disposed of there. The video suggests that the bottles be down-cycled to produce another viable product. Another issue is health of people and the cost it incurs to use bottled water. Bottled water, in the US, is not regulated to the same standard that tap water is plus the cost is over 500 times the price of tap water, which is practically free for the average person.
The Story of Electronics
Electronics have become a major part of our everyday living when rather than designed to last forever are being ‘designed for the dump’. This means their in-built obsolescence (or the designers choices) dictate how long a product is to last and operate in a person’s home. Existing products, in some instances are being shipped to eastern countries where they are then dismantled, its valuable parts sold and the rest either put into landfill or burned. This is a major health risk and environmental disadvantage as the toxins that have been built into these products are then emitted in harsher forms after the products life. The video suggests new ways of minimising waste and harm on human during the products use. Firstly, initiating ‘product take back’ to ensure that companies design responsibly and ethically, as they will be the ones who dispose of the waste. Secondly, make electronics modular and allow parts to be changed rather than the entire product. Finally, it is even more important for the products to be designed to last, that way they can perform an alternate task in the family home; a piece of remembrance, a memento in a families history to be passed down for generations to come.
By Mitchell Harris
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