My blog this week will be a continuation of the topic last week, just using the other kind of food value category: technical. A technical nutrient as defined by the cradle to cradle system is one that can be used perpetually in the marketplace. It is the truly recyclable item that can be reused infinitely. My idea is to make a bathmat that is produced from a technical material.
My choice of a bathmat is because they are a commonly replaced item, due to its direct contact with lots of moisture. Because of this, it is prone to mold and mildew. If the mat is made from a material meant to breakdown, the moisture might accelerate the process to one that it might break down the mat prematurely. The second reason to make this from a synthetic material is exactly because it is in contact with lots of water. The product would not absorb much of the water, which would then evaporate. The mat could be washed or dried more easily. At the end of its use, it would be melted down and turned back into a new bathmat.
Now, in order for this to happen, the factory needs to control its supply chain, as well as the consumer market for the material. Currently, there is not much set up in the way of clothing recycling. A good way to do this would be for the retailers to have a special bin just for the bath mats. Users would receive store credit for their deposit of the old mat. On the supply end of this, the producers would need to make sure that one, the old material is being used, and two, the virgin material is being sourced and dyed in a way that does not affect the recyclability of the product. This would include not using any of the chemicals listed on the x list or the gray list.
Hi Josh, this sounds like a very good and useful idea. What types of materials would the bathmat be made of though? Would it be similar to a rubber mat that would actually go into the tub or would it be something that would be to dry your feet on outside of the tub? And then depending on which one you were thinking, I was wondering what particular materials you were planning on using. Have a good week.
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