Sustainable Materials

How Sustainable Materials Can Be Used To Create A Better Future

Sustainable materials are the most important component in evaluating whether or not a product is truly sustainable. Whereas there are gray areas in so many of the considerations affecting this, when it comes to the raw materials themselves, matters are usually a little more clear cut. Every industry has a need to use materials in order to manufacture their products, but in most if not all cases it is possible to use materials which can be replaced through growth of new material. Even in the construction industry, which provides the most fundamental need of humanity, shelter, and which uses colossal amounts of raw material every day, it is possible to find genuine sustainability if enough effort is made.

One of the best materials to use in construction is one of the most traditional – wood. There is no suggestion here that we all live in wooden houses, as the fire risk and potential dangers would be completely intolerable, but there are many places within a home where wood can be successfully used. Wood can be produced from sustainable forests, where it can be guaranteed that trees are planted to replace the trees which are felled to produce the timber. Each area can also support its own industry by the use of local timber, which also has the spin off benefit to the environment of reduced transportation expenses, and less fuel emissions being sent into the environment.

Using clay instead of plastic wherever pipe work is needed is another step which can add vastly to the sustainability of the construction industry. Plastic is notoriously bad at decomposing and returning to the earth, and its use is to be discouraged in as many situations as possible. Clay is a naturally occurring material, and is not prone to the problems which plastic can so easily create. Construction is such a vital industry that standards really do need to be laid down which ensure that we are building homes in a sustainable way.

As well as shelter, food is one of mankind's most fundamental needs, and there is an ever growing industry producing organically grown food which is truly sustainable. Whereas chemicals may increase yields in the short term, they do much to damage the long term health of the soil and the environment, and are only a way in which society is storing up problems for itself. If we are to create a truly sustainable future, we need to pay attention not only to the way food is grown, but also to the materials which are used in its packaging.

The energy industries are also essential for man's survival, and the use of fossil fuels is in no way sustainable. Efforts must be made to switch our energy consumption over from fossil fuels to sustainable, renewable sources such as solar and wind power, and thought must also be given to the materials used to construct the devices which provide these. These are challenging times, but we can produce a better future for our children through the use of sustainable materials.

 

 

 

 

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