Hi, I'm Phnam.
Hi, I'm Mardis.
And we're the hosts of Future Future, where two designers talk about the future of everything.
We're in the business of turning science fiction into reality for a better future.
And today, we're going to talk about sustainability, and specifically, non-toxicity.
A lot of us are very aware that we live in a world that is very toxic.
We're born wearing diapers, which are really tragically toxic things that are multi-layered,
and they absorb all kinds of waste.
And then we live our entire lives exploring and doing these things with toxins,
and then we're buried with a bunch of formaldehyde in us.
Literally, from cradle to grave, we are living this toxic dream.
And I would love to explore the idea of a non-toxic life.
What is really going to change the world is one: consuming less,
and two: is drastically reducing the toxicity of the products that we put out in the world.
And a lot of it is invisible.
A lot of it doesn't have any taste.
A lot of it doesn't have any smells.
One of the most toxic materials is called PVC: polyvinyl chloride.
And we've heard about this material forever.
Everything from fake leather bags to tennis shoes to fancy party clothing
that they used to wear in the 70s (and somehow still kind of wear).
PVC piping is used in plumbing.
It's used in hydroponics, so [it's found in] the food grown for [sale in] grocery stores, [food] that you end up eating and I end up eating.
If you go onto plastic manufacturers' websites, they'll tell you that PVC is still very good for you.
And that's just not true.
Typically, PVC doesn't create a lot of really bad toxins during its use.
It's usually before: in the production of PVC it off-gases all these dioxins and things like that...
more endocrine and hormone disruptors.
And at the very end, when they're recycling it or trying to change [its] form,
they heat it up and it off-gases all these different toxins.
And none of this is good.
If there is an opportunity to change that and do it in a safe way, move away from PVC, we highly highly recommend this.
This is something that we do when we're designing all the time.
We always try to move away from very toxic materials into more materials
that are considerate to the planet and to the people that occupy the planet.
So there's one market - in the US at least - that is very, very sensitive to non-toxicity.
It's newborn markets.
Mothers, fathers want things in the house, things that you put in the baby's mouth, to be non-toxic.
Which is why they change all their cleaning products, they make sure that baby bottles are BPA free.
And they're willing to pay more money, because the development of new materials and non-toxic materials
takes more time and effort and R&D to develop.
Now, how do we grow that market from baby products all the way to everyday life products?
To food packaging?
If you think of food packaging or packaging in general, it's typically something you don't even look at.
You receive your Amazon box, you open it up quickly, you open the packaging,
you throw it in the trash, and then you start using your product.
You don't have a relationship with that packaging or the information that's on it.
And that's very much due to the fact that we live in a D2C, direct to consumer, economy.
We love when our Apple computer comes in that really expensive, beautiful box
with what we call laminates, and there are layered amounts of clear coating.
And it really looks just beautiful.
And this is great, but as Phnam said, we toss it out almost instantly.
There's nothing in the world that is that sparkly and shiny and that is natural.
Everything that is sparkly and shiny and painted and coated is man-made.
Is made by humans.
Except for gemstones!
Except for gemstones.
And I would say water, too.
But those are rare occurrences, right?
So, we need to change the perception and look at uncoated materials as beautiful because they're uncoated.
So now let's take advantage of the way the economy is going
by reducing completely useless packaging and completely useless toxicity, and really change our daily habits.
As you become a little less toxic and a little more organic...
and most materials, typically they don't look as shiny and sparkly and have that crystal clear appearance.
For instance, seaweed plastic.
Seaweed plastic is cool!
It's the latest and greatest so to speak in terms of plastic and sustainability.
You can put it back into the ocean and through natural processes it can break down with salt water and UV.
I wouldn't recommend that.
I'd recommend putting that into a compost bin.
But the tradeoff is: it doesn't look as clean and crystal clear as PET or other harmful plastics.
So really start integrating all these plastic products that come from nature
that are less toxic - or non-toxic - into the way we consume everyday is going to bring
more color, more interest, more attention to why we consume and how we consume and how we influence others.
So look for products that have 1% for the planet, that share a product with a lesser served or underserved community.
Look for products or brands that are giving back in one way or another.
Planting a tree.
Yeah! Planting a tree. That's a huge one, right?
Right now there's a whole trend going on where people are actually being buried in forests.
And this is so much better for the environment because no longer are people being put into tin boxes or laminated boxes.
They're actually put back into nature, kind of how the planet's always worked.
And there's something really really pretty amazing about that.
So the takeaway of this video is that we've had many bad habits when it comes to sustainability
and toxicity of the materials we're using.
But also, we have a lot of innovation in materials science
and in the demand for non-toxicity coming from parents (or whoever really thinks about those things).
So we have one foot in the wrong place and one foot in the right place.
Now is the time to step that second foot in the right place,
and really influence industries to stop thinking about the cheapest, most toxic way of doing things
because it's faster or because that's the way it's been done for the last fifty years.
So if you're interested in making change in your life, if you're interested in removing those toxins,
tell us about it the comments. Tell us how you might do this.
And join this journey in how we can make the world a better place,
and our lives a better place in general.
Until then, see you next time.