2013
[
TO CRADLE OR NOT TO CRADLE?
]
A MOVE TO ZERO WASTE: THE ECO-EFFECTIVENESS PRINCIPLE
APPLIED TO THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
In this interdisciplinary research the obstructions, possibilities and consequences of the implementation of the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) concept within the textile industry is explored. C2C is seen as a strategic expression of the eco-effectiveness theory. The disciplines that are assessed are Earth Sciences, Business and Economics. Guidelines for this interdisciplinary research are based on Repko (2012). Extending the definition of eco-effectiveness identifies common ground from the disciplines. A lab experiment on nutrients from a biodegradable shoe in the soil and a survey on the expectations of company leaders within the textile industry are performed. A concluding explanation on obstructions, possibilities and consequences of C2C implementation make this research interesting for different kinds of stakeholders. The main obstructions found are entropy, the desire for economic growth and ecological uncertainty. The possibilities found include businesses’ desire to grow and the fact that the biological cycle is likely able to be closed. Concluded from this research is the fact that optimal eco-effectiveness cannot be obtained by C2C strategy, however it can form an ultimate form of eco-efficiency. Thus, the cyclic flow of the biological and technical materials seems impossible and can better be visualized with a spiral – large reuse of materials and a very small new input.
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University of Amsterdam Date: 20-12-2013
E.M. van Otterloo – 10110054 B. Rol – 0367540
J.S. Walterbos – 10009493 Tutor: J. Rothuizen MSc Supervison: Dr. C. Rammelt Word count: 7000
Table of Content
Introduction into Cradle to Cradle design 2
Cradle-to-Cradle is… 2
Textile industry as tangible example of C2C implementation 4
Structure of the report 4
Methodology 6
Determining the additive nutrient concentration from oat shoes 6
Online survey for textile company leaders 8
Integrating disciplinary perspectives 8
Theoretical framework: Disciplinary perspectives 10
Analyzing the possibility of a closed biological cycle 10 Analyzing the possibilities and obstruction for businesses 12 Analyzing the economic perspective on cyclical material flow 13
Obstructions, Possibilities & Consequences 15
Entropy 15
Growth 16
Uncertainty 18
Consequences of large scale implementation 19
Conclusion 21
Recommendations 22
Discussion 23
References 24
Appendix A – Process registration of experiment 27
Appendix B – Protocols for Experiment 29
Introduction into Cradle to Cradle design
The increasing human material demand is outgrowing the carrying capacity1 of our planet (Postel, 1994; Rees & Wackernagel, 2008; Smulders, 1995). In order to cope with this issue industrial concepts and practices are developed to address, or solve, the environmental impact of expanding production and consumption. Two main coping theories can be distinguished: eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness. Eco-efficiency, which has been the long time standard for measuring environmental progress, is gauged by the amount of input and environmental impact per unit of production (Bunker, 1996). Eco-efficiency increases when inputs and environmental impact per unit of production decreases and is normally achieved by process optimisation. Where eco-efficiency aims to minimize environmental impact eco-effectiveness is based on a complete transformation of production design in such that it enhances the environment (Braungart, McDonough & Bollinger, 2007). Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) is a practical, strategic expression of the eco-effectiveness theory.
Cradle-to-Cradle is…
C2C was introduced in 2002 with the launch of the book ‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things’ by Michael Braungart and William McDonough (2002). They envision a C2C circular material flow within either a biological or technical cycle. For the biological cycle this means that products are designed in a way that materials are returned to the ecosphere through physical degradation, during and after the products lifespan. A criterion for material used in biological cycle is that it is non-toxic to the environment and that it feeds biological processes. In technical cycles the manufacturer owns the product, formally or in effect. After the products lifespan it will be returned to the manufacturer whom will reuse the materials into a product with the same or higher level of quality. The biological and technical cycles sustain the quality and productivity of the material over time (Braungart et al., 2007). By implementing these closed cycles no waste and by-products are produced, thus eliminating the idea of waste and pollution. Reusing all materials used in society will decrease material demand enabling mankind to live comfortably within the carrying capacity of planet earth.
1
Carrying capacity is defined as the maximum population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a defined habitat without permanently impairing the productivity of that habitat (Rees & Wackernagel, 2008, p. 538).
According to Braungart et al. (2007) eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness can be complementary. Nevertheless, they stress that eco-efficiency can only be beneficial in the long term when eco-effectiveness, implementing C2C material flow, has been established first. When eco-effectiveness has been reached, efficiency improvements will only serve as a tool to distribute goods equally and possess no environmental necessity. Eco-effectiveness implies that reduction of material input or toxic substances is not necessary, unless this aids to achieve cyclical material flow (Braungart et al., 2007).
Criticism on the feasibility of C2C product design arises from a wide variety of scientific disciplines. Ecologists question if materials in the biological cycle will actually be able to benefit the environment as large deposits of organic material can disrupt ecosystems (Reijnders, 2008). Natural scientists state that material integrity in the technical cycle might proof hard to maintain (Reay, McCool & Withell, (2011). It is also noted that the integration between science and industry is insufficient in order to meet requirements of zero environmental impact. Companies design their production in a way they think reflects environmental integrity, this is often based on a superficial notion of sustainability (Reay et al, 2011). Another issue that is not addressed by Braungart and McDonough (2002) is the tremendous energy needed for eco-effective product design. Their assumption that cheap, green energy is infinitely available is flawed (Reay et al., 2011).
This research examines the possibilities, obstructions and consequences when transitioning to C2C design within the textile industry. An interdisciplinary approach is required because the growing material demand is a complex and societal issue that cannot be addressed by one discipline alone (Repko, 2012). This approach combines insight from natural sciences, business administration and economics. Even though the textile industry will form the main focus of this research, valuable insights from this report can be transferred to other industries. According to Boulding (1966) developing skills in the solution of the more immediate and perhaps less difficult problems, can provide insights in problems of larger scale and that are perhaps much harder to solve.
Textile industry as tangible example of C2C implementation
The textile industry can be used as a tangible example of C2C implementation since several companies are already implementing C2C. Mud Jeans created jeans that are leased on an annual basis by the consumer. Oat shoes developed a fully biodegradable shoe in which a
seed is planted so that the consumer can bury the discarded shoe and a tree will grow (fig 1). Even big multinationals such as Nike are experimenting with C2C.
Since the textile industry supplies both end- and semi-finished product this report covers part of other branches. In addition, implementation of eco-effectiveness seems more profitable because the lifetime of textile end-products is relatively short due to fashion trends (Van der Werf & Turunen, 2008).
Figure 1: Oat shoe designed for babies (Oatshoes.com, 2013).
Structure of the report
Within this research paper we assess the following research question: What are the obstructions, possibilities and consequences, when implementing C2C in the textile industry? In the next section the methodology will be outlined including the integrative techniques used in order to perform interdisciplinary research.
In the section following methodology three disciplinary sub-questions are answered to lie out the theoretical framework to answer the research question. First the possibility of closing the biological cycle within the textile industry is explored from an earth science perspective. This opens up the question whether nutrients in the soil can be replenished from degrading C2C textile products. Secondly, the following question is answered from business administrative perspective; what are business leaders’ attitudes toward C2C product design? Thirdly, the question whether the private market can accommodate C2C implementation will be answered from an economic perspective.
After answering the disciplinary sub questions four integrative topics – entropy, growth, uncertainty and large-scale implementation of C2C – are used to answer the research question
in the result section. From the result in the four integrative topics a conclusion will be drawn. Finally, research limitations, further research suggestions and recommendations are given.
Methodology
The disciplinary sub questions, as stated in the paragraph above, are partly answered by performing literature research. This offered knowledge about different aspects on the subject and how markets, companies or materials, behave and are produced. It creates a theoretical framework wherein this knowledge can be applied and combined to find out how the C2C strategy is expected to behave within these disciplines.
Determining the additive nutrient concentration from oat shoes
For earth sciences the literature research is aimed at creating knowledge regarding the biological cycle. The idea that at the end of the biological cycle the ‘waste’ can return in the soil and serve as ‘healthy waste’ is criticized in several studies (Reay et al., 2011; Reijnders, 2008). Plant residues degrade and consist of a variety of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), minerals (K, Ca, Mg and Na), metals (Zn, Cu, Fe) and carbon compounds. However, a high amount of non-hazardous biodegradable compounds might have negative effects on water and soil quality (Reijnders, 2008).
An experiment was carried out to determine the amount of nutrients that are released when a C2C product degrades. This experiment was exerted to measure the nutrient content released by degrading ‘Oat’ shoes by comparing potting soil with the degraded shoe and potting soil without a shoe. Oat shoes are made from bio-cotton, hemp, cork and biodegradable plastics (Brochure Oatshoes, n.d.). This is conforming most bio compostable textiles that in general “consist of a biodegradable polymer as matrix material and a natural fibre as reinforcing element” (Montanty, Khan & Hinrichsen, 2002)
After the additional nutrients are determined the results were compared to the nutrients necessary for hemp production. Hemp (Cannabis satvia L.) has been chosen as comparison crop since this crop is most common sustainable natural fibre crop for Europe (Dreyer, Müssig, Koschke, Ibenthal, & Harig, 2002). This crop grows well in moist weather conditions without high input of fertilizer. Currently a European Union funded research examines the possibilities for sustainable hemp textile production, HEMP-SYS (van der Werf & Turunen, 2008).
1) Planting the shoe (figure 2)
During the first step three pots were filled with 1 kg potting soil. In the first pot the whole shoe was added, in the second one shoe cut in piece from 1 by 1 cm was added; and the third pot served as control pot, so nothing was added to the potting soil. The pots were situated on top a heating element and water was added when the soil of one of the pots was dry. Appendix A demonstrates the procedures that were applied per day.
Figure 2: Three pots with potting soil and whose two with biodegradable oat shoe.
2) Taking a soil sample and selecting small particles (< 2 mm)
Approximately 5 grams of soil was taken from each pot. The sample location was the same for all three pots and based on the location of the whole shoe pot, i.e. the soil surrounding the shoe. This soil was dried at 105 degrees Celsius for 24 hours. The remaining large pieces of shoe were taken out of the soil sample. Then the soil was crushed and sifted with a sieve-size 2 mm; therefore only small particles (< 2 mm) remained which improves the comparative capacity of the different pots, since large tubors and leftovers of the shoe do not influence the nutrient content. Moreover these organic compounds are not (yet) available for plant uptake, the smaller the particles the more likely they are to be dissolved in the soil solution.
3) Determining nutrient contents
The nutrients that are measured are ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), phosphorus (P) and
potassium (K). First an extraction with water and aqueous salt solution (CaCl2) is made from
the soil sample. By combining 10.0 grams of soil with 100.0 mL CaCl2 solution (0.01 M) and
shaking this for two hours at room temperature. Subsequently, centrifuge the suspension for 15 minutes at 2000 rpm and filter the solution with a 0.2 µm membrane filter.
Using an extraction of the soil is considered to represent the nutrients available for uptake by plants. Nitrate, ammonium and phosphorus concentrations are determined by adding for each nutrient another reagents to the soil extraction. These different reagents react with the
available nitrate, ammonium and phosphorus and colour the solution. The strength of the colour determines the concentration of the nutrients present in the solution. The strength of the colour was measured by spectrophotometer. Potassium is measured by burning the extraction. The emission of potassium is compared with the calibrated concentrations. The precise method used to determine the concentrations is enclosed in Appendix B.
Because the concentrations are expressed as concentrations based on dry weight, it is necessary to determine the soil moisture content of the < 2 mm soil particles. This is done by comparing the weight of the soil before and after drying the soil at 105°C for 24 hours. The loss of weight is a measure for the absorbed water content.
Online survey for textile company leaders
To see if the literary findings for the business discipline coincide with reality an online interview has been conducted with company leaders within the textile industry. The online survey will result in the strengthening of the literature study findings.
The interview is conducted with the online interview tool www.thesistools.com and is attached in Appendix C. It consisted of six open questions, and data of the interviewee. Two versions of the interview were created, a Dutch and an English version. This decision was made to ensure possible language barriers were prevented.
The distribution of the interview has been done through e-mailing with connections found within the textile industry; the e-mail is also attached in Appendix C. The targets of the interview are company leaders within the textile industry ranging from clothing, curtains, carpets etc. Company leaders will decide what strategy a company will follow, and therefore are the most interesting target for this research. The target number that is set is ten reactions. The researchers are aware of the possible bias of the interviewees since the selection method cannot insure an arms length distance from the interviewers.
Integrating disciplinary perspectives
After individual research from the three disciplines perspectives of Earth Sciences, Business and Economics, the results are combined in an interdisciplinary research. The interdisciplinary research methodology of Repko (2012) functions as a guideline for the integration of the three disciplines at hand.
C2C deals with a societal issue of waste; according to Repko (2012) a societal issue is one of the four criteria for interdisciplinary research. The other three criteria are the complexity of the issue, the fact that no single discipline can address the problem and important insights
from multiple disciplines are offered. Since insights of multiple disciplines are incorporated in C2C principles, multiple disciplines need to be considered for research on this topic. This statement applies to two of the criteria for interdisciplinary research. Lastly, the research question is complex in such a way that opportunities from one discipline might be considered as obstructions in another or vice versa. To deal with this complexity it is helpful to create common ground between the disciplines in order to advance communication, as is proposed by Repko (2012). He states that the creation of common ground starts with identification of conflicts between insights. Conflicts between earth science, business administration and economics arise when trying to define one of the key concepts of C2C; eco-effectiveness. According to Braungart et al. (2007) eco-efficiency is not desirable as a design strategy but instead eco-effectiveness should be the goal. By taking the disciplinary definitions of efficiency, eco-effectiveness is redefined, and looking at the disciplinary definitions in the framework of the differences between eco-efficiency end eco-effectiveness as put forward by Braungart et al. (2007). Finally the insights from these differences will lead to an extension of the definition of eco-effectiveness. In this way the overlap of the different disciplines is identified.
For economics, efficiency in a market is achieved when all possible value-adding transactions take place (Hindriks & Myles, 2006). Efficiency is often opposed by equity and we believe a definition of economic effectiveness would have to include a maximization of efficiency and equity. At the field level for earth sciences the definition for efficiency closely relates to the concept of intensive agriculture, which is driven by the highest possible yields with the lowest possible inputs (Richter & Roelcke, 2000). Effectiveness in this discipline would imply the concept of permaculture, which already resonates heavily with the eco-effectiveness theory (Mollision, 1988). Finally, efficiency in business administration means the short-term strategy of diminishing the amount of resources used to generate a maximum profit with a tendency to expand profits over time (Derwall, Guenster, Bauer, & Koedijk, 2005). Effectiveness would focus on redesigning the production process in such a way that all negative externalities are transformed into positive externalities.
Thus the extended, new definition is:
ECO-EFFECTIVENESS IS REDESIGNING THE PRODUCTION PROCESS TO ELIMINATE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES WHEREIN NUTRIENTS ARE CYCLED AND EQUITY AND
Theoretical framework: Disciplinary perspectives
This chapter maps out the answers on the three disciplinary sub questions. First, can nutrients be replenished by degradation of C2C designed products? Second, how do company leaders view the C2C concepts and it’s implementation? Third, how can markets accommodate C2C implementation?
Analyzing the possibility of a closed biological cycle
As explained in the methodology an experiment with the C2C designed Oats shoes serves as proxy for the possibility that the nutrients used to produce the resource can be returned to the soil after product usage.
After 5 days the first results of biological activity were visible when the pot with the fragmented shoe showed fungal hyphae (figure 3). Some days later the pot with the whole shoe also showed fungal hyphae. More pictures and details on the biological activities can be found in Appendix A.
Figure 3: The pot with the cut oat shoe showing fungal hyphae after 5 days.
In figure 5 and table 1 the results from the lab analysis as explained in the method section are presented. Both results demonstrate an increase in nitrate, ammonium and potassium when the shoe was present in the soil. There is no correlation visible between the concentrations and the shoe that was cut up or when it was put in the soil as a whole. Except for the concentration of nitrate, which was higher for the third sample. However, this is not visible in table 1 because sample 2 and 3 contained a concentration that was higher than the photo spectrometers reach. With unaided eye it was visible that the colour of the third sample was
more developed which suggest a higher concentration (figure 4). Further analysis is needed for a more accurate determination.
The concentration of ammonium was difficult to accurately measure, since it contained a concentration lower than the reach of the photo spectrometer. This suggests that in the control as well as in the other two samples ammonium is barely present.
Table 1: Concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, potassium and phosphate for the three different pots.
Concentration of … Nitrate [g/kg] Ammonium [g/kg] Potassium [g/kg] Phosphate [g/kg]
Sample 1 / no shoe 0,8896 < 0,0082 13,7331 16,9193
Sample 2 / whole shoe > 4,8263 < 0,0097 21,7760 20,6371
Sample 3 / shoe in pieces > 4,8263 < 0,0064 16,9071 16,6827
Figure 4: Reaction to the reagents to determine nitrate concentration. From left to right sample 1,2 and 3.
Figure 5: Bar graph which shows for each sample the concentration of potassium, nitrate and phosphate in grams for each kg of soil.
0 5 10 15 20 25 1 2 3 Concentration [g/kg] Sam p le nu m m e r
Kalium, Nitrate and Phosphate concentration per soil sample Potassium Concentration Nitrate Concentration Phosphate concentration
The results retrieved from the experiment, as presented above, are compared with the amount of nitrate, ammonium, phosphorous and potassium extracted by a hemp plant in table 2. Information about the amount of hemp present in the shoe was not available. This makes it impossible to determine if the amount of nutrients released is enough for the amount of hemp that is needed to produce a new shoe. However the addition of nitrate seems promising; the concentration multiplied approximately 5,43 times over a month.
It must be stated that this experiment contains only three samples and therefore undertaking statistical analysis is not possible. In addition, the amount of organic material within the potting soil is highly depended on small piece of tubers and wood. Since the samples were crushed before an extraction was made the samples might differ greatly. For further research sandy or clayey soil, which are more homogeneous will be a more suitable substrate.
From this small experiment it can be concluded that it seems possible to close the biological cycle, however more detailed and larger research is necessary.
Analyzing the possibilities and obstruction for businesses
Possibilities
In the business environment, companies strive to gain competitive advantage over their competitors to be successful. The relationship between sustainable companies and competitive advantage has been found positive (Boons, Montalvo, Quist, & Wagner, 2013) and all five respondents in the survey agree to this positive relationship (Personal communication, December 3, 2013).
Competitive advantage can be obtained by cost advantage and differentiation advantage (Grant, 2010). These two aspects are covered when C2C strategy is used in a company. First, costs can be reduced with a C2C strategy, for example emissions and waste are not present anymore, resulting in cost saving on pollution treatment costs and waste management costs (Montalvo & Kemp, 2008). Besides, the goal of C2C is to use waste as food; in other words, waste of company A will be used as resources for company B. When this process is designed properly, the costs of buying waste are likely to be less expensive than buying ‘new’ resources. This is also noted by respondent 1 in the survey, who states that sustainable innovation “...help a company’s profitability in terms of using materials to the fullest. It allows the company to put this money into other parts of the business.” (Personal
communication, December 3, 2013). This potential for costs reduction does, however, depend on the design of the C2C process and therefore depends on knowledge within the industry of the concerned company. Moreover is described further in this part.
Second, the company’s image for consumers will improve, leading to higher sales because consumers are likely to prefer more sustainable companies above others (Montalvo, 2008). The respondents of the survey were positive about this point as well; all five believed image differentiation due to a sustainable strategy like C2C will improve revenues. For example, respondent 4 stated that “...every deviation from standard thought inspires customers..” (Personal communication, December 3, 2013).
Obstructions
However, there are some downsides as well. Similar to all other investments, financial resources are required. Banks do not have the expertise to evaluate cleaner production investments and their protocols do not include a clear definition. Therefore, the choice between investing in C2C or a ‘normal’ investment (e.g. increasing productivity) does not tend to be in favour of the cleaner production investments (Montalvo, 2008). Subsequently, banks lack expertise for investments in cleaner production that is caused by the knowledge gap existing in cleaner production methods in general. This knowledge gap results in an absence of technological and organizational capabilities for companies as well, forming a barrier for C2C strategy (Grant, 2013; Montalvo, 2008). This fact came forward in the interview conducted for this research as well, where only one of the respondents expected to have enough technological and organizational knowledge to successfully implement a sustainable innovation (Personal communication, December 3, 2013).
Analyzing the economic perspective on cyclical material flow
Capital
Since C2C is set in a finite biosphere with finite natural capital, industry is bound by the steady state of planet Earth. Boulding (1966) was the first economist to verbalize that the world needs to be viewed as a closed system and that production processes need to be altered accordingly. He stated that the current production methods rely too much on throughputs and is unsustainable. Daly (2008) has adopted the idea of zero throughputs in his theory of a Steady State Economy. He states that an economy driven by constant growth will eventually
lead to a situation with uneconomic growth. This occurs when the value of the negative externalities is greater than the value added by the production of goods, making society poorer rather than richer. Since some people still benefit from this uneconomic growth they have no incentive do deviate from current practices (Daly, 2005).
Neo-classical economists view natural and manmade capital as perfect substitute and state that something is sustainable when the total sum of the two capitals remains the same. This is in sharp contrast with ecological economist view of sustainability and natural capital: “…natural and manmade capital are more often complements than substitutes and that natural capital should be maintained on its own, because it has become the limiting factor” (Daly, 2005).
Obstructions, Possibilities & Consequences
The following paragraph will cover the interdisciplinary findings regarding obstructions, possibilities and consequences for implementation of C2C divided into four themes. First the law of entropy will be applied to economics and the C2C concept on the field level. Secondly business and economic growth will be juxtaposed. Thirdly the topic of uncertainty will be addressed: scientific and financial uncertainty. Finally the implications of large scale C2C implementation will be reviewed; large in the sense of geographical and production.
Entropy
McDonough & Braungart (2002) envision a C2C material pool available for all of industry to utilize as long as the materials make their way back to the pool. The largest obstruction for an implementation of C2C applies to this material pool and is derived from the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy law. This law states:
“The transformation and rearrangement of material or energy inevitably implies an irreversible process from free or available energy into bound or unavailable energy. Material becomes irrevocably scattered (or dissipated), and hence less available. Transformation implies rising entropy, which can be seen as an index of the amount of unavailable energy in a given thermodynamic system at a given moment of its evolution” (Georgescu-Roegen, 1975, mentioned in Smulders, 1995, p. 321).
As a material is transformed its entropy increases and after many cycles of transformation will eventually be useless as a source for production and will have to be considered as waste. The only way to deal with entropy is to produce at a rate with which low-entropy resources are replaced by new energy inflows from the sun (Smulders, 1995). Since C2C proposes an endless cycle of resource use, entropy can pose a huge problem and might even deem a Steady-State-Economy without waste impossible. With the restrictions mentioned above some economist believe this can only be achieved in a manner that resembles a socialist planned state (Blauwhof, 2012).
Applied to the textile industry and hemp production in particular entropy poses a problem. Current intensive agricultural practices take the soil out of its natural equilibrium by subtracting nutrients through harvesting and replenish its soils with fertilizers; energy (Richter & Roelcke, 2000). This natural equilibrium of a soil encompasses stationary water and nutrient cycling that depends on the balance generated by the following soil forming
Roelcke, 2000). Applying the entropy theory would mean that this energy partly becomes more disordered by leaching and atmospheric deposition. By returning these nutrients in the form of plant residues and biodegradable products, thus applying permaculture (eco-effectiveness), reduces the amount of disorder (Rees & Wackernagel, 2008). However, frequencies of harvest and the return of nutrients are will influence the amount of nutrients available for crop uptake.
Within the above-mentioned entropy theory differences between the technical and biological cycle can be distinguished. The technical cycle can in our vision not become a closed loop but is a downward spiral until net entropy is too high and the material’s quality too low that it becomes waste. The limiting factor in the technical cycle is the energy needed to reduce entropy in a used material. When transforming high entropy material energy is added energy and entropy decreases. However the energy that needs to be applied had to be transformed from solar radiation to electrical energy this transformation needs also energy. It might thus be that entropy increases too much due to transformation of energy compared to the decrease in entropy by recycling the material, the net entropy increases, thus the material can better be considered waste. The biological cycle does not need a medium to transform solar energy into energy that can be applied to reduce entropy (Savada et al., 2011). It is thus more likely that the biological loop can be closed which is also the result from the Oat Shoe experiment. Knowing that production in C2C is under great limitations the question arises what consequences this has for businesses and their desire to grow as well as political drive for economic growth. This is the topic of the next paragraph.
Growth
Growth poses both an opportunity and an obstruction for implementing C2C. Companies driven by growth will seek competitive advantage through differentiating their public image and can do this by implementing C2C. The current paradigm in economics is that growth is the main indicator of the state of the economy. Economic growth is therefore one of the main political drivers. Too much growth however will eventually lead to uneconomic growth. As Grant (2012) states: “If the firm is to prosper within an industry, it must establish a competitive advantage over its rivals” (p…). The basic need of a company is to survive and prosper. This will result in the never-ending process of competing with others and gaining market share, and therefore growth is one of the key essences of companies (Grant, 2012).
The two major examples mentioned before, of how C2C can contribute to a competitive advantage is saving on production costs first, like pollution treatment costs and waste management costs (Montalvo & Kemp, 2008) and secondly, through image differentiation, meaning that customers can prefer a company that is more sustainable above other companies (Montalvo, 2008). So, implementing C2C is likely to bring growth to a company, as its competitive advantage will increase.
Besides, one of the requirements for implementing a strategy is access to capital (Grant, 2012). So, money is needed before a company is able to invest in changing its strategy to C2C. These financial requirements are earned with profit, which have to be earned by being a successful, and therefore likely a growing company.
So, growth is an essence for companies to be successful and therefore be able to invest and implement a C2C strategy. Furthermore companies will benefit from growing markets, as their opportunities to prosper will grow when more potential customers are present. This contradicts the vision of growth within economics relating to C2C.
Economic growth is measured as a change in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. In the neo-classical model growth is possible through technological progress and expanding markets. This type of growth relies heavy on increasing output. From macro-economic theory follows that growth is one of the main drivers in the economy as it is the only way to alleviate long term unemployment (Gärtner, 2009). However, Daly (2008) states that an economy driven by constant growth will eventually lead to a situation with uneconomic growth. This occurs when the value of the negative externalities is greater than the value added by the production of goods, making society poorer rather than richer. An alternative to neo-classical growth is what is phrased as endogenous growth, this is growth based on knowledge creation (Smulders, 1995). As knowledge is nonrivalrous value added through knowledge is in potential limitless (Smulders, 1995).
Calculating the national accounts such as the GDP in a way that it would include depletion of natural capital would create a clearer picture of the real cost of growth (Daly, 2005). Changing the way GNP is calculated will give policy makers the incentives to give the right political signals in order to move to a sustainable society. Legislation and tax incentives would steer businesses to more sustainable practices. Klitgaard and Krall (2012) however, predict that when the initial run on sustainable business subsides and all profitable ventures are snatched up, the system will remain the same in which individual actors will seek profitable undertaking whether they be sustainable or not. Empirical evidence has even
is expected that companies would do the bare minimum to meet legislation standards (Aljaz, 2013, October). This could include the motivation for companies to increase their competitive advantage through greening up their act since competitive advantage is lost when all actors comply with legislative standards.
Concluding that growth poses an obstruction as well as an opportunity for C2C implementation the question remains which force can tip the scale. Since an unlikely paradigm shift is needed to stir policymakers to an eco-effective course we believe that C2C implementation will have to be driven by businesses’ desire to grow. A growing implementation of C2C would mean a growing uncertainty of its consequences. This uncertainty is addressed below.
Uncertainty
Another obstruction to the C2C theory relates to the complexity of nature, which results in uncertainty on several scales. Firstly, on field scale and with regard to the biological cycle Braungart et al. (2007) state that biological nutrients need to have a positive impact on the environment. However it is not stated what this positive impact might be and how it can be measured or on what time scale this positive impact should be reached. It is difficult to determine whether biodegradable material should or should not be considered waste due to complexity, interrelatedness, time lags and uncertainty within and between ecosystems (Reay et al., 2011). In sum, due to the complexity of nature the implications of C2C are uncertain which makes knowledge context specific and general knowledge difficult to provide to industries.
Companies taking decisions under uncertainty do this on the basis of its resources and capabilities. Resources of a company can be divided in tangible, intangible and human resources.
Tangible resources are the financial and physical resources
Intangible resources consist of technology (e.g. patents), reputation and culture. Human resources are skills, know-how, motivation and capability of communication and collaboration.
The resources available to a company are integrated to create a company’s capabilities to reach competitive advantage (Grant, 2010). To overcome the complexity of nature, these
three resources together have to create the capability of the company to implement a successful C2C strategy.
However, as stated by Boons et al. (2013) the knowledge about how to realize sustainable innovation and create win-win situations for companies is not complete. Due to this knowledge gap, caused by nature’s complexity there is no framework available for companies to follow when implementing C2C, so companies must find their own way in this innovation. Subsequently, there is an absence of skill and know-how within the human resources and technology within intangible resources of the company. Therefore it is necessary to invest in these resources of the company before C2C can be implemented, and this investment will decrease the tangible resource finance. So, this knowledge gap creates a high level of uncertainty leading to high risks of investments which in turn results the not undertaking of C2C investments (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
In order to encourage investments it is up to policymakers to try and take away uncertainty. A policy tool to do this is to subsidize sustainable investments creating more certainty on future cash flows. However, policymakers are restrained by the same uncertainties from earth science regarding environmental implications of production. Therefore policy aimed at promoting research will be useful.
Scientific and financial uncertainty arises when implementing C2C. This is not different from wasteful industrial practices but as C2C imposes zero impact on the environment these uncertainties will have to be dealt with. Uncertainties about the consequences pose an obstruction for C2C implementation, some of these consequences are mapped out in the following paragraph.
Consequences of large scale implementation
Consequences related to an increasing scale of C2C implementation vary widely. Some of the likely, negative, consequences are mapped out below.
A higher amount of biodegradable waste is expected due to implementation of C2C design. This might lead to toxic levels of substances and eutrophication, as demonstrated above. In addition, the production of materials and products and the consumption of the products are most often spatially separated (Goodstein & Arnold, 1985). It is therefore increasingly difficult to close the biological cycle by returning the products to locations where the
nutrients were extracted. This requires input of energy, in the form of transport, to reduce entropy. Localized production systems would be preferable as Pollan (2008) suggests.
When a nation or region like the European Union would decide to implement C2C on a full scale it would have to close its borders for products that have a negative impact on the environment (Ref…). This could result in protectionism and goes against the policies of the International Monetary Fund. It is often seen when nations place import restrictions such as tariffs on other nations for a specific product that the affected nation react by mimicking the restriction on other categories of products. Consequently, implementation of C2C in the textile industry could lead to a decrease in competitive position in other industries.
Looking at the example of the textile industry, if C2C would be completely implemented by the textile industry using organic fibers such as hemp or nettle it would be competing for land with agriculture. Considering the difficulties that are already common with regard to feeding an ever-increasing population, competition for land is undesirable, as it will hike up food prices.
If the textile industry were to implement C2C it would leave a lower demand for polluting intermediate products. Lower demand would lead to a lower price, which in turn would lead to higher demand by other industries. This is already seen with regard to efficiency increase and dematerialization in the field of industrial ecology (Bunker, 1996). The net effect on the environment of C2C implementation could be undone by this phenomenon.
A certain degree of uncertainty remains whether these consequences will occur. Whether these potential negative consequences way up against the positive consequences of C2C implementation requires a normative approach from which this paper refrains.
Conclusion
C2C eliminates the idea of waste by creating a circular material flow within either biological or technical cycles. In this interdisciplinary report the possibilities, obstructions and consequences of implementation of C2C strategy have been researched, with the textile industry as a main focus. Eventually four main topics have come forward: growth, uncertainty, entropy and the consequences of large-scale implementation. These topics are concluded below, followed by answering the central research question: What are the obstructions, possibilities and consequences, when implementing cradle-to-cradle within the textile industry?
The economic and business perspectives contradict on the topic of growth regarding C2C strategy. From the business perspective growth is a desire for companies, and C2C will result in a competitive advantage and therefore the company will grow. Thus, growth creates the possibility for companies to implement a C2C strategy. However, in economic perspective growth is more an obstruction. In our present economy growth is measured by real GDP per capita, this measures the output of industries and negative externalities are not measured at all. For C2C to be visible in economic growth the depletion of natural capital has to be taken into account when measuring GDP and that will require a shift in paradigm.
One of the obstructions for implementing C2C in a company strategy is the high level of uncertainty due to nature’s complexity. The knowledge gap provoking this uncertainty has to be diminished by means of investment in research. This process will consume time and money, however the possibilities for companies on gaining competitive advantage due to C2C should be worth the risk for investing in this concept.
In addition large-scale implementation of C2C might result in unforeseen ecological disasters, such as eutrophication, due to nature’s complexity.
More obstructions are present in the two cycles of C2C, the technological and the biological cycle. Due to the effects of entropy, where the process of rearrangement of material will eventually lead to dissipation of the material, the technological cycle is impossible to be fully closed. However eco-effectiveness, due to entropy, is impossible in our current environment, it can become the ultimate form of eco-efficiency. Instead of a fully closed loop, a spiral form is possible where most of the material is rearranged and the dissipated part of the material needs new material or energy input.
The biological cycle is possible to be fully closed, however, the current global economy is based on globalization. A large-scale C2C implementation will result in the accumulation of
nutrients in the region of consumption. Possible solution is a more local production economy, which will require a paradigm shift. Furthermore, C2C does not create waste or pollution and this may impose a problem in the current way of global transport among the world. Transportation must transform in a totally waste and pollution free form, however this obstruction is currently decreasing as transportation methods are becoming cleaner and the emergence of green energy and electrical transportation methods might solve this issue.
Recommendations
Despite the fact that optimal eco-effectiveness, as depicted by Braungart et al. (2007), cannot be obtained according to this research; there are ways to improve C2C implementation. Firstly, by reducing the uncertainty due to the complexity of nature. There is a knowledge gap that creates an obstruction for implementing this strategy on a large scale. Companies need to close this knowledge gap on the business level, where process design for C2C is needed. However, if a framework is created for companies to follow, a barrier will be taken away and company leaders are more likely to choose for a C2C strategy implementation. Subsequently, another important gap in knowledge lies in the consequences of a large-scale implementation of C2C. This gap needs major attention due to the fact that ecological and environmental effects resulting from C2C consequences are largely unknown. To expose possible negative effects interdisciplinary scientific research needs to be performed. Interdisciplinarity is important because this issue will address multiple disciplines, for example earth sciences, ecology, marine ecology etc. Therefore one of the recommendations is to create a mode-2 research structure where a trans-disciplinary platform is created were governments, knowledge institutes and the industry can actively cooperate to reveal all consequences of large-scale implementation of C2C (Regeer & Bunders, 2007). As a result possible negative consequences can be identified and prevented.
Secondly, changing the way we measure a country’s welfare would have a positive impact on sustainable practices if national accounts were to include other values beside just GDP. An alternate to GDP is the Social Progress Index (SPI), which measures the multiple dimensions of social progress. Ecosystem sustainability is one of the dimensions measured in SPI. SPI is developed in cooperation with researchers from MIT and is said to accurately measure a nation’s welfare. Implementing an index such as SPI in political processes would steer decision makers to create policies with a more sustainable results.
Thirdly, local production should be supported since this is an inherent requirement if the biological cycle needs to be closed. In addition materials should be selected that contain a high energy/biomass ratio and degrade fast. This regenerative capacity is depended on the amount of solar light that is needed to produce fibers (biomass).
Discussion
This research combined insights from earth sciences, business administration and economics. We believe that inclusion of additional disciplines will be able to add to the completeness of the research. Valuable insights can be derived from an engineering perspective especially on the design aspect of C2C. Furthermore, an ecological perspective can illuminate environmental implications of C2C even more. Finally, chemistry and physics expertise will allow further in-depth analysis of the material issues.
Due to time constraints and scale of the laboratory experiment with the Oat shoes the results are inconclusive. Even though measurements are taken at a later point in time and included in later versions of this paper, the limitations of this experiment need to be stressed.
We believe there is research needed on a new system of patents, this is due to the fact that whenever companies come up with a new process or product they want to secure it with patents. However this can be a major obstruction to enable large-scale implementation of C2C ideas.
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Appendix A – Process registration of experiment
Date Action
30/10/2013 Planting the shoe in 1 kg potting soil 01/11/2013 Adding 50 cl tap water
04/11/2013 White fungal hyphae are visible in pot with cut up shoe in it 05/11/2013 White fungal hyphae are also visible in pot with whole shoe 07/11/2013 Making pictures (figure 3)
29/11/2013 White globules that lie on top of potting soil in pot with whole shoe (figure A1) 30/11/2013 White mushroom on top of potting soil in pot with whole shoe (figure A2) 02/12/2013 Mushroom became a unstable flowerish mushroom in pot with whole shoe,
besides a new mushroom (figure A3) 05/12/2013 Taking soil sample
Figure A1: small white globules on top of the soil in the pot with the whole shoe
Appendix B – Protocols for Experiment
Estimation of the soil water contentIntroduction
Since the concentrations of chemical components (nutrients, pollutants etc) are invariable expressed as concentrations based on dry weight, we will have to determine the moisture content of our soil samples. The moisture content of a soil sample is estimated by drying at 105°C for 24 hours.
The loss of weight is a measure for the absorbed water content and is calculated as a percentage of the dry mass.
Sample
Air-dry well homogenized sample < 2 mm (fine earth fraction). Procedure
Weigh ca. 5 gram of soil accurately (on a four-decimal balance) in a numbered
aluminum evaporating dish. Place in an oven at 105°C for 36 to 48 h. Cover threequarters of the dish with a lid. After drying, remove the dish, place in a desiccator for
cooling to room temperature and weigh (use the same balance). The weight lost is the amount of absorbed water in the soil sample. Express the loss of water as a percentage of the dry soil.
Making extraction Introduction
Extraction with water or an aqueous salt solution is generally used to measure the extractable nutrients in soil as these are considered to best represent the nutrients available for uptake by plants.
Sample
Air-dry sample, < 2 mm and well homogenized. Determine the moisture content separately according the procedure for the determination of the soil water content. Procedure
Weigh 5.0 grams of the soil accurately (on a two-decimal balance) and transfer into a 200 mL polyethylene bottle. Add 50.0 mL demi water (also on a twodecimal
balance). Assume 1 mL demi water is 1 gram. Shake during two hours at room temperature.
Centrifuge the suspensions for 15 minutes at 2000 rpm. Take a few mls of the clear supernatant for the determination of the pH. Filter the remaining part over a 0.2 �m membrane filter. Collect the filtrate in a dry polyethylene 100 mL-bottle.
Measure in the filtrate the ammonium, nitrate, phosphorous, potassium, copper, zinc and TOC.
Analysis of nitrate, ammonium and phosphate content
Nitrate, 4.4 - 110.7 mg NO3- /L
Method
In sulphuric and phosphoric acid solution nitrate ions react with 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) to form 4-nitro-2,6-dimethylphenol that is determined photometrically Procedure
Procedure
Reagent NO3-1 4.0 mL Pipette into a dry test tube Pretreated sample (5 - 25 °C) 0.50 mL Add with pipette, do not mix!
Reagent NO3-2 0.50 mL Add with pipette (Wear eye
protection! The mixture becomes hot!) and mix, holding only the upper
part of the tube! Leave the hot reaction solution to stand for 10 min (reaction time).
Do not cool with cold water!
Ammonium, 6 - 193 mg NH4+/L 1.
Method
Ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) occurs partly in the form of ammonium ions and partly as ammonia. A pH-dependent equilibrium exists between the two forms.
In strongly alkaline solution ammonium nitrogen is present almost entirely as ammonia, which reacts with hypochlorite ions to form monochloramine. This in turn reacts with a substituted phenol to form a blue indophenol derivative that is
determined photometrically. Procedure
Reagent NH4-1 (20 - 30 °C) 5.0 mL Pipette into a test tube Pretreated sample (20 – 30°C) 0.10 mL Add with pipette and mix Reagent NH4-2 1 level blue microspoon (in
the cap of the NH4-2 bottle)
Add and shake vigorously until the reagent
is completely dissolved. Leave to stand for 15 min (reaction time), then fill the sample into a 10-mm cell, and
measure in the photometer
Phosphate, 2 - 229 mg P2O5 / L
Method
In sulphuric solution orthophosphate ions react with molybdate ions to form molybdophosphoric acid. Ascorbic acid reduces this to phosphomolybdenum blue (PMB) that is determined photometrically.
Procedure
Distilled water (10 - 35 °C) 8.0 mL Pipette into a test tube Pretreated sample (10 –– 35 °C) 0.50 mL Add with pipette and mix. Reagent PO4-1 0.50 mL Add with pipette and mix.
Reagent PO4-2 1 dose Add and shake vigorously until the reagent is completely dissolved. Leave to stand for 5 min (reaction time), then fill the sample into a 10-mm cell, and
Analysis of Potassium content in CaCl2 extract Introduction
Potassium should be measured in the present of an excess of sodium ions. This prevents the ionization of potassium in the flame. CaCl2 is added to the standard solutions to match the matrix of the sample solutions.
Reagents
1) Potassium standard solution, c = 1000 mg K/L
2) Diluted potassium standard solution, 100 mg K/L: pipette 10.00 mL of the standard solution (sol. 1) in a 100 mL volumetric flask. Add 18 M water to the mark and mix. 3) Sodium chloride solution, 40 g Na/L 0.2 M HNO3. Dissolve 100 grams NaCl in 800 mL
demi-water (ELGA). Add 14 mL HNO3 (65%) and dilute with 18 M water to 1000 mL in a volumetric flask and mix.
4) Sodium chloride solution, 4 g Na/L in 0.02 M HNO3. Dissolve 10 grams NaCl in 800 mL 18 M water (ELGA). Add 20 mL HNO3 (1 mol/L) and dilute with ELGA-water to 1000 mL in a volumetric flask.
5) Calcium chloride solution (1 M). Dissolve 147 grams CaCl2.2H2O in 200 mL 18 M water (ELGA) and dilute to 1000 mL in a volumetric flask.
Procedure
Pipette 5.00 mL or less* (v ml) of the extract into a dry tube of 15 mL. Add, if necessary, with a pipette 0.01 M calcium chloride solution to a volume of 5.00 mL and with a 5.0 mL pipette solution 4. Close the tube and mix. If a precipitate forms, centrifuge for 10 minutes at 2000 rpm. * The expected highest concentration should be diluted at least 10 times. Pipette 1.0 ml in a dry tube and add 4.0 ml demiwater . Continue as described before.
To calibrate the AES (Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer) prepare 4 solutions in 100 mL volumetric flasks: Pipette 0.– 5.0 .–10.0 .– 20 mL from solution 2 (diluted standard solution); add 5.0 mL NaCl solution (solution 3) and 5.0 mL solution 5. Dilute to the mark and mix. The concentrations are 0.0 - 5.0 - 10.0 .– 20.0 mg K/L. Measure the emission of the standard and sample solutions with the AES at 766.5 nm Use an air-acetylene flame and the 5 cm burner head.
Calculation
Appendix C – Survey and answers
Accompanying lettre for survey - Dutch Geachte heer, mevrouw,
Mijn naam is Joost Walterbos, ik ben 21 jaar en studeer Future Planet Studies (FPS) aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam. FPS is een studie die zich bezig houdt met onze planeet de Aarde en hoe we met de planeet om moeten gaan om te zorgen dat we hier in de toekomst nog steeds van kunnen genieten.
Ondertussen zit ik in het derde jaar en ben ik samen met mijn groepje een afsluitende interdisciplinaire studie aan het uitvoeren over het Cradle2Cradle (C2C) concept en of dit toepasbaar is binnen de textielindustrie. C2C is een duurzame innovatie theorie die een economie mogelijk maakt waarin geen afval meer bestaat, omdat alle afvalstoffen voedsel kan zijn voor een ander bedrijf, wel of niet binnen dezelfde sector.
De discipline die ik vertegenwoordig is Bedrijfskunde. Ik wil voor deze studie graag een beetje actuele kennis vergaren vanuit bedrijven binnen de textiel sector. Hierom vraag ik u of u dit korte, online interview even wilt doornemen en uw kennis met mij wilt delen. Het interview bestaat uit 6 vragen en zal minimaal 6 minuten van uw tijd in beslag nemen, afhankelijk hoe effectief u de vragen kan en wilt beantwoorden.
Als dank voor het invullen van dit interview zal ik ons eindresultaat naar u opsturen, en misschien kunt u hier de toekomstige strategie van uw bedrijf op baseren. De uitkomsten van dit onderzoek kunnen namelijk zeer interessant zijn voor uw bedrijfsvoering!
Linkadres:
http://www.thesistools.com/web/?id=371614
Hartelijk bedankt alvast voor uw tijd.
Vriendelijke groet,
Joost Walterbos Student FPS jaar 3
Online interview results
Answers from the respondents 1 and 2 are in English and the answers from respondent 3 till 6 are in Dutch.
What kind of company do you lead? (producer, retail etc.)
1. Wholesale 2. Textile consulting 3. Verkoopagentschap 4. Producent/importeur 5. Producent
Accompanying lettre for survey – English version Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Joost Walterbos, I am 21 years old and I study Future Planet Studies (FPS) at the University of Amsterdam. FPS is a study that is about our planet Earth and how we have to deal with the planet to ensure we can enjoy it in the future.
Now I am following my last year of this study and therefore my group and me are conducting a final interdisciplinary study about the concept of Cradle2Cradle (C2C) and if it is possible to fit this concept in the textile industry. C2C is a theory about a sustainable innovation that enables an economy to exist totally without waste, because all waste can be a resource for another company within the same, or another industry.
The discipline I must represent in this project is that of business. For our study I would like to gather some actual knowledge from companies within the textile industry. Therefore I am asking you if you can take some time to fill in the short, online interview I made to share your knowledge with me. The interview exists of 6 questions and will take a minimum of 6 minutes of your time; depending of the time you have available to answer the questions.
As a return, we will send you our final report of our research. And maybe you can base the future strategy of your company on this report. I am saying this because the results of our research can be very interesting for new ways in running your company!
Link:
http://www.thesistools.com/web/?id=371643 Thank you in advance!
Kind regards, Joost Walterbos Student FPS year 3 University of Amsterdam
How many people work for you? 1. 1 2. 1 3. 3 4. 6 5. 1 6. 11
What is your function within the company?
1. Planner 2. Director 3. Directeur 4. DGA 5. Eigenaar 6. Directeur
Choose which is most applicable for your company
1. Progressive 2. Progressive 3. Innovatief 4. Innovatief 5. Innovatief 6. Progressief
Are you familiar with the sustainable concept of Cradle2Cradle? If yes, how do you know it?
1. No
2. Yes but limited knowledge from the Internet
3. Ja, uit de media
4. Is mij bekend, onlangs een interview gehoord op BNR met de directeur van Desso Tapijten
5. Ja , via vloerbedekking van Mohawk
6. Ja, de media
Do you think that a sustainable innovation can improve your competitive position?
1. Yes! I think this is a great and very achievable concept especially in the fashion industry- materials can go round and round without ever having to go to waste. This would also help a companies profitability in terms of using materials to the fullest. It allows the company to put this money into other parts of the business and portray themselves as a company that is helping the environment! 2. Yes I have been involved with sustainable issues for more than 12 years. It is becoming of increasing
importance for brands and retailers around the World.
3. Ja, op termijn. Architecten zijn daar nl. volop mee bezig vanuit de vraag. De uitvoering terug naar cradle is nog niet zo evident
4. Ik denk dat zeker, omdat iedere afwijking van standaard denken klanten inspireerd, tevens weet inmiddels iedereen het belang hiervan. Het is in mijn optiek geen "geitenwollen sokken" item. 5. Ja omdat dit een steeds belangrijker aankoopmotief wordt om het milieu minder te belasten.
6. Enkel als je die in je communicatie gebruikt. Het vervelende daarvan vind ik dat het dan snel een marketingpraatje lijkt / wordt.
