Study Notes on Sustainable Futures and Production Consumption

Lung Cancer and Sustainable Futures

Course Details:
- Ar and Wate Pollin
- GEES1105 Sustainable Futures
- Dr. Nichola Harmer, Academic Year 2025/2026
- Focus on sustainable production and consumption.

Glastel Warning: Highlighting critical sustainability challenges.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns - vital for future resources and ecological balance.

Historical Perspective:
- Industrial Revolution: Marked a significant rise in consumption.
- 20th Century Fordism:
  - Led to cheaper items and increased workers’ wages.
  - Broadened customer base, predominantly in the Global North.
- 1960s: Markets in the Global North reached saturation.
- Post-Fordism:
  - Production began shifting to the Global South.
  - Increased distance between production and consumption led to diminished traceability and awareness.
  - Resulted in poor working conditions, deviated regulations, and detrimental environmental effects (Kütting, 2014; Scales, 2014).

High-Income Countries:
- Leave significantly larger environmental footprints.
- Material footprint per capita: 10 times that of low-income countries.
- 2020 and 2021 Fossil Fuel Subsidies:
  - $732 billion in 2020, increased to $375 billion in 2021 following global crises.
- Average food waste per person: 120 kilograms annually.
- Over 485 policies for sustainable consumption introduced by 62 countries + EU between 2010-2022.

Over the last 50 years, the ecological footprint, which indicates natural resource consumption, has increased by approximately 190% (Grooten, M. and Almond, R.E.A., 2018, WWF Living Planet Report).

Understanding Scales: Macro and micro perspectives on production and consumption.
Power Relations:
- Relationships of power and inequality crucially influence sustainability considerations.
Sustainability Aspects Include:
- Economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
- Key questions include:
  - Who profits?
  - Who benefits?
  - Who is disadvantaged?
  - How are different economies interconnected?
- Examines inter-generational and intra-generational implications.

Ownership Statistics:
- By 2025, 1 in 5 people globally is a mobile phone owner (International Telecommunications Union, ITU).

Production Issues:
- Utilization of conflict minerals: tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold, and cobalt.
- Negative health impacts of mining practices and resource scarcity.
- Instances of unfair wages and exploitation, including child labor.
- Financing of rebel groups, notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The production network complexity complicates traceability of components.

Rapidly Growing Domestic Waste:
- E-waste is the fastest-growing domestic waste category with 62 million tonnes generated in 2022 (Global E-waste Statistics Partnership, GESP, 2024).
- E-waste generation increasing 5 times faster than recycling rates.
- Only 22% of e-waste is recycled appropriately, with just 1% of rare earth element demand met via recycling.
- Environmental and health concerns arise from improper e-waste disposal, impacting marginalized communities.

Benefits in Developing Nations:
- Rise in mobile usage since the late-1980s; by 2005, mobiles represented three-quarters of telephones across 19 African nations.
- Facilitation of mobile banking and social connectivity at low costs.
- Aid during emergencies and health crises.
- Support for economic activity (e.g., selling airtime kiosks, job information sharing).

Post-Modern Significance:
- Mobile phones symbolize the latest industrial revolution and feature prominently in post-modern culture, representing consumption dependencies and technological advancements.
- Exhibit a "sustainability paradox", with consumer knowledge of negative impacts yet persistent purchasing behaviors.

Proposed Solutions:
- Legislation supporting transparency in supply chains and certification of conflict-free products.
- Audits on companies and supply chain practices, including voluntary codes of conduct.
- Frameworks such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

Historical Context:
- Late Victorian era witnessed activism against feather use in women's fashion hats leading to the establishment of the RSPB.

Characteristics of Fast Fashion:
- Rapid production cycles, low-cost operations in the Global South, often resulting in poor labor practices.
- Fast fashion contributes to a throwaway culture due to low quality and quick turnover in styles.

Global Garment Supply Chain:
- Connections from farming to manufacturing highlight significant labor and socio-economic disparities.
- Calls for transparency in garment factories emerge from collective human rights efforts.

2023 Mitumba Waste Report:
- Over 900 million items sent to Kenya in 2021, with 40% classified as waste.
- Concerns about environmental, economic, and health impacts of textile disposal.

Suggested policy changes to encourage sustainable practices in the fashion industry target improved waste management through legislation and extended producer responsibility.

Greenwashing: Companies making unsupported sustainability claims for image enhancement, reflecting deeper issues in the consumption system.

Suggestions call for comprehensive legislation to enforce due diligence in supply chains and economic rewards for sustainable practices.

Addressing unsustainable production and consumption patterns requires comprehensive strategies across various sectors to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 by advocating for transparency, regulatory standards, and fostering consumer awareness.

A comprehensive reference list to include relevant literature and data sources is available for further research.
Multiple studies cited, including works from Brooks, Kutting, Grooten, and reports on the Sustainable Development Goals.