With the growing environmental impact, from excessive energy consumption to waste and pollution, it has become increasingly important, and urgent, to adopt measures so that the planet can perform its innate work of balance and return to normal.
Sustainability - an alarming issue
In a society increasingly concerned—and rightly so—with its future and the state of the planet for future generations, the term "sustainability" has gone from a concept coined by a small community in Rome, Italy (more on that later) to becoming part of today's collective lexicon. With the growing environmental impact, from excessive energy consumption to waste and pollution, it has become increasingly important, and urgent, to adopt measures so that the planet can perform its innate work of balance and return to normal. This normalcy is now sought in every social branch, in all forms of production and consumption, and is already, fortunately, reaching increasingly younger age groups, as we can see in the various climate and environmental protests where voices are gradually becoming louder and even more prominent—take Greta Thunberg as an example.
The Club of Rome
The theme of Sustainability originated in 1966, when some leaders of a village in Rome—known as the Club of Rome —met to identify and discuss environmental issues. This original group inspired the Club of Rome, founded two years later by Italian industrialist Aurelio Peccei and Scottish scientist Alexander King. The club, still today, is composed of a notable group of distinguished individuals whose interests focus on economic and political issues, but above all, on environmental and sustainability issues. Its members are figures linked to communities as diverse as scientific, religious, cultural, academic, political, financial, and so on.
Important dates for Sustainability
Three more dates were recorded as crucial for the spread of environmental awareness and the practices that gradually became necessary. In 1987, the illustrious Brundtland Report coined the concept of sustainable development , an idea that had been developing since the 1970s. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development took place, where the Johannesburg Declaration (the city where the conference took place) was signed and was attended by 22,000 participants from 193 countries. In this political declaration, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable development and its three pillars: economic, social, and environmental development. Finally, in 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as the " Rio+20 Conference ," took place. As the name suggests, it took place in Rio de Janeiro and served to discuss the renewal of the political commitment to sustainable development.
Upcycling and the circular economy
With this growing awareness of the need to care for our homes, practices have also emerged that have been adopted by companies and, more recently, by a collective seeking new ways to maintain the old (and essential) environmental balance. One such measure is upcycling . Far from being a new practice, upcycling has experienced a huge boom thanks to its ease of implementation, sustainable techniques, and mutual benefit. The term "upcycling" means, in Portuguese, "reuse upwards," and we can say that it is a superior form of recycling. In a less literal deconstruction, the term basically consists of giving new life to materials that would initially be discarded, thus renewing the idea of "waste" and keeping resources circulating to the limit of their usable capacity. This also includes the concept of the Circular Economy. " The Circular Economy is a holistic model 'resilient and restorative by intention,' where, similar to what happens in nature, 'nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed' (Lavoisier's Law)." In the circular economy, there is no waste or trash. There are, however, valuable resources (or nutrients, as they are called in this model), and as such, their useful life must be maximized, maximizing the period in which they generate value for society,” we can read on the website beecircular.org .
Upcycling as a form of sustainability
The term "upcycling" was coined by Reine Pilz, a German environmentalist, in 1994, but it only became popular with the 2002 publication of the book " Cradle to Cradle: Rethinking the Way We Make Things, " written by architect William McDonough in partnership with chemist Michael Braungart. Since then, the concept has spread and gained new followers and implementers. New and distinct business models have been created, and it is now very present in markets such as decoration, fashion, furniture, technology, industry (food, textiles, automotive, etc.), among others. What was initially a trend is now a way of life and part of a solution that has established itself as essential for implementing sustainability and caring for our planet.
The benefits of upcycling
On the same website, beecircular.org, we can find a list of benefits of using this practice: “Using upcycling techniques brings many benefits to people, our planet, and organizations, since:
- It promotes more conscious consumption and environmental responsibility;
- Reduces overconsumption and waste;
- Reduces pollution on our planet;
- Minimizes the amount of waste generated;
- Reduces the need to consume new raw materials;
- Slows down the unbridled extraction of virgin resources from nature;
- Moderates water and energy use;
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions;
- Extends the useful life of materials already circulating in the economy;
- It enhances the circularity of products at their end of life.”
Vianatece as a pioneer of upcycling
With these advantages in mind, Vianatece ( Letheshome 's parent company) has practiced a material reuse policy since its founding in 1985 and, combined with the art of craftsmanship, has made this sustainable production its main identity and distinguishing feature . As a company, Vianatece has worked to provide its customers with the best artisanal production from its looms while, inspired by the famous rag rugs , focusing on reusing thousands of kilos of waste from the textile industry, thus giving a new and beneficial life to what many would consider trash. This environmental commitment and reduced ecological footprint earned us the Blue Angel seal, corroborating our eco-friendly production and demonstrating our focus on Sustainability and the application of Upcycling, which has always been part of our policy and identity. Despite the underlying problems, we believe in the future and believe that each of us—as a company or individually—can make a difference, now more than ever, necessary. Because, as the famous slogan says, “ there is no planet B ”.
