Climate ActionCONVERSATIONSConversations of ConsequenceCreative Enterprise & DesignGood Health and WellbeingIndustry, Innovation and InfrastructureISSUE 7 | DESIGNING DESIRE: Material MattersPublication ContentResponsible Production and ConsumptionStrategic Design
A Conversation with Dr. Michael Braungart, Co-Founder of Cradle to Cradle Design and MBDC on Material Shortages and Designing a New Material World
Recent events around the world expose the heightened uncertainties of a growing demand for materials that are both precious and in limited supply. With China exporting as much as 96 percent of the world’s supply of rare earth metals, the country’s drastic reduction in exports sent ripples around the world. Simultaneously, governments such as the United States continue to subsidize biomass for energy, causing domestic shortages and the need to import biomass from other countries.