understanding the real cost of making things

06/29/2009 09:38:00 AM (1)
Modern business has become ruthlessly efficient at producing low cost goods, so much so, it's very easy to ignore the complexities involved in the global sourcing and manufacture of these items.

The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites, a student at RCA, is an attempt to come to terms with the complexity. Thwaites takes a $10 toaster and tries to manufacture his version that takes him on an interesting journey into mines, meetings with energy consultants and even smelting iron ore in a microwave.

Step 2, Attempt 2: Smelting Iron Ore in a Microwave from Thomas Thwaites on Vimeo.


Thwaites sums up the real point of the project as follows;

“It seems the need to buy more stuff to save our economy and the need to buy less to save our environment are on a collision course.  So, we either have to value what we’ve got a lot more, or spend as much time and effort taking things apart and disposing of them as we do putting them together.”




Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags:

Comments
energy
I recently realized that convenience takes energy. Labor provides it. I think if we value the labor put into making the things you're thinking about taking apart, then we can deal with both buying more stuff and saving our environment. It's matter of understanding perspective and valuing Life.
Posted by Daniel Edlen on 06/30/2009 04:23 PM
It appears you don't have Flash installed.
Email this article to a friend
Send an email to a friend with a link to this article. Items with an asterisk (*) are required.

Your Name:
*

Your Email:
*

Friend's Name:
*

Friend's Email:
*