Natural vs. Affordable – What is the Value of Conscious Manufacturing?

Natural vs. Affordable

Someone asked me recently how we could make the Rotunda more affordable for the average consumer. A crucial question, and one which has been weighing heavily on my mind for quite some time. It drove me to sit down and analyse the materials within buildings in terms of cost and how we might reduce this.

Frustratingly enough, all of the natural elements which I personally really care about are the ones which cost us the most. Hemp insulation is a big one, as are the hand-crafted Douglas Fir doors and windows, not to mention the Zero Formaldehyde Ecologique MDF & PLY components.

A friend told me yesterday that ‘Rowland Homes’ in Leyland were giving a talk to a school group on one of their building sites yesterday; a demonstration on ‘How to build a house’. Core components? You guessed it, Breeze Blocks, Polystyrene Insulation and Bricks. My blood ran cold. That’s how they build a house, driven purely by profit margins and fast build times – but to what cost? The scientific community are already aware that both formaldehyde and polystyrene are toxic to human health and are known carcinogens. And that’s just in the building, what about the manufacturing process? What about the disposal and degeneration of these materials in the landfill sites and waterways? And let’s not even talk about the embodied energy of the bricks they use and the amount of carbon released to produce them. Given that we now live in a time where the natural environment should be the primary focus of our attention (especially within education) it’s questionable that this talk is of much benefit to the next generation (who almost certainly will be suffering the consequences of such blatant disregard for the environment for the sake of profits).

Only this morning, Radio 4 were discussing the findings of the MacMillan Cancer Trust that by 2020 50% of us will have or will have experienced cancer in our lifetimes.

This only serves to harden my resolve. Yes, of course I want my business to be successful, but do I really have to utilise cheap and hazardous materials in order to be competitive in the marketplace? Or do I stand firm and stay true to my values? Where does the “value” lie exactly?

If we talk of the detrimental cost to the natural environment and our health then I’d say that it’s costing us greatly to keep things cheap.

Who’s picking up the tab here for cheap buildings? If it’s not you, the consumer, and it’s certainly not the manufacturer then who’s paying supporting that deficit? It’s the soil, it’s the local wildlife, it’s the ocean-life with the seas filled to the brim of disintegrating plastics (which is ending up in our food chain, incidentally) and it’s the waterways and our landfill sites.

The “value” then, of using natural materials is of great importance and it reduces the “cost” to our health and the natural world.

So then, this poses the question, which to we value more? Are we actually perceiving cost accurately? Furthermore, are we, as consumers (and indeed, manufacturers) truly weighing up the costs of our profit margins or underestimating the value of what matters most – our planet?

Blogpost written by Gemma Roe.