The Mesh - Lisa Gansky [22]
While Mesh businesses are well positioned to offer specialized tools, they also promote standardization of certain platforms and components. Standardization of screws, nuts, and bolts was essential for advancing construction, auto manufacturing, and any number of other industries. The same goes for street and sidewalk specs, as well as for less concrete items such as ISBN numbers as a categorization system for books. The Web itself relies on standard protocols, and has thrived for that reason. Without industry-wide cooperation or government regulation, companies have traditionally vied to set and control standards and formats to monopolize their category. Unfortunately, what may be in the short-term interest of one company can hold back development of entire industries, and confuse customers. For example, as I write, Apple is being criticized for failing to include Adobe Flash capability on the new iPad. Some colorful comments have been exchanged. Apple, which has historically been proprietary about its own software, would like to force the adoption of a different protocol. Perhaps the iPad will, as Apple argues, offer a better multimedia platform than Flash. In the meantime, customers are left with less-than-satisfactory options.
sustain this. welcome your product home.
An early version of heirloom design, “sustainable design,” is already hot in the best schools. Coauthors Michael Braungart and William McDonough propose in the book Cradle to Cradle that all products need to be designed so they may be reused or later reclaimed. The base materials themselves are shared, which is why they must not be toxic. Their proposal would significantly reduce waste and encourage designers and manufacturers to choose materials deliberately and holistically. Cradle to Cradle relies on the understanding that there is no possibility of throwing something away without consequences to soil and groundwater.
The next stage of product design is less about creating new, “greener” stuff and more about building durable products that can be shared. Designers should imitate nature by using structures and materials that endure. Of course, the most durable shared bike, car, watch, or other product does have a finite life cycle, even if it is well maintained. The goal is to start with good quality, conserve the core materials, and preserve the virtues of the product as it goes through its life cycle.
Earth is the ultimate share platform. Thoughtful product design conserves nature by reducing the carbon footprint and lowering waste. As citizens on the planet, as well as entrepreneurs in Mesh businesses, we should all want this. Reducing waste is also called operating efficiently. In fact, for economic reasons alone, all businesses should aspire to reduce waste. DuPont, for example, saved over $2 billion by reducing its emissions by 70 percent between 1990 and 2004. Successful Mesh enterprises strive to equal the convenience of the ownership model while trimming out the extra fat, environmentally and financially. (Some also trim the waist. Just walking three blocks each way for a shared car, instead of out to the garage, can make a difference.)
The Europeans have made progress in avoiding disposable products. Many governments in Europe require manufacturers to take back their products when they are no longer useful, creating a powerful incentive to employ cradle-to-cradle strategies. Companies then upcycle the parts and materials into new products. Although some of these practices are being adopted in the United States—many states now have requirements for manufacturers to recycle or upcycle electronic products—tax dollars still subsidize