Designs impact on the extinction and wellbeing of species — Critical Contextualisation
It is no secret that global warming and climate change is happening, even though many of us try to hide away from the facts. Research has shown that we only have 12 years to avoid major damage to the planet. With global warming, waste and pollution becoming a consequential problem, how is this effecting animals, and how much of this can be blamed on design? We know humans are the main cause, but can we also be a part in coming up with solutions?
When we think of design, one of the main things that comes to mind is advertisement. Adverts can be positive however when thinking about the environmental impact, advertisements can have a more negative effect. As well as the obvious factor of the materials such as paper used to make the adverts cause trees to be cut down, it can be slightly more complex than that. Adverts have the power to manipulate people, and make them believe that they need things, when in reality they do not. Surrounded by adverts the demand for goods begins to increase and therefore the need to produce these goods also increases. The manufacturing process then leads to a rise of pollutant emissions and accelerated climate change, as well and land use causing more deforestation. ‘Approximately 1.7 billion people worldwide now belong to the ‘consumer class’ — the group of people characterized by diets of highly processed food, desire for bigger houses, more and bigger cars, higher levels of debt, and lifestyles devoted to the accumulation of non-essential goods.’ (Mayell, 2004) The constant consumption also adds to the waste we produce which is becoming a worldwide problem. The oceans are turning into a waste disposal pit with over half the plastic produced is single use. Meaning that after it is used once it will either be thrown away into landfill, or worse, finds its way into the environment. It is important for designers to be transparent with consumers when creating ads, however they get paid to promote these projects, and not every designer can afford to only promote eco-friendly and ethical designs. Although it is important that some designers promote the truth behind these products, allowing the public to see the terrifying statistics about the materials used to create these products that are being shoved in our faces day to day. ‘It has been suggested that if everyone on the planet consumed as much as the average US citizen, four Earths would be needed to sustain them.’ (McDonald,2015) Up to 12 million tons of plastic enters the ocean every year, forming giant floating garbage patches all over the world, this effects the animals in the ocean, and is contributing towards extinction for many species.
Brands often are guilty of duping the consumer. They are guilty of leaving out important information. ‘Often with insufficient or deceptive information…’ (Crocker 2017; 47). Companies are also guilty of using what is known as ‘greenwashing’. “We are all vulnerable to advertising and corporate greenwashing…’ (Crocker, 2017; 184). This is a form of environmental deceit. Greenwashing also can lead to more consumption of products that are bad for the environment. An example of this is a branding campaign for Kauai’s ‘100% compostable Coffee Pods’. Kauai Coffee claims its “100% compostable” coffee pods take the guilt out of the coffee making experience. However this isn’t really the case. There is only a few locations that offer the decomposing of coffee pods. ‘One of the locations includes Hawaii, the state in which Kauai says it has planted more than 4 million coffee trees across more than 3,000 acres. Kauai admits that these industrial facilities “do not exist in many communities” but again the disclaimer is buried in the fine print of the BPI certification seal.’ (Truth in Advertising, 2017). This may only appear like a little lie, however is every company were to do this it could create a devastating impact. It is not fair to deceive consumers into believing they are making decisions that will help to save the planet.
Although design can be blamed for negatively impacting climate change and the extinction of animals, design can also have some positive effects. Designers along with scientists are coming up with new ways to improve the wellbeing of animals. Various designs by graduates that have been made to avoid further extinction. Set of tools were designed by the Royal college of Art and Imperial College students. The first design of bio-logging tags were made for the humpback whales and collared peccaries who can be found in south and central America. These tags are used to warn off any human threat, as well as monitoring their environments and habitat. The tags are a possible solution to conservation projects that are said to be interfering in a non-proactive way. The aim is to design for the animal and the eco system rather than designing something that would rely on humans to control and monitor. The second tool created by the graduates was made for the collared peccary, a pig-like mammal. The design emits vibration signals that allows the mammal to receive information about their surrounding environments. The bio-tags directs the peccary to deforested areas, avoiding humans, farms and poaching zones. This allows the animal to build their habitat. These devices are similar but are designed to act differently for each animal. This highlights the complexity of the design and research carried out to achieve this. The tag created for the peccary features a camera as well as algorism for computer vision. The tag for the whale however has a hydrophone inside which reduces the turbulent noise of water.
As well as creating new technologies, there are also experiments happening around the world, using existing designs in new ways. One example showing this is the use of drones in national parks throughout Africa. Africa is in the middle of a poaching crisis and trespassers are breaking laws coming into the national parks trying to kill elephants and rhinos. ‘The continent’s elephant population declined by 30 percent from 2007 to 2014, much of it because of poaching. At least 1,338 rhinos were killed for their horns in 2015 alone. Criminals are becoming increasingly militarized in their tactics, and efforts to stop them have had little success.’(Nuwer, 2017) The park has started an experiment using drones as a method to scare away poachers. Google gave a grant, helping fund the purchases of the drones. Since the experiment has started the have found a significant reduction of poachers entering the parks. Although the new system is not yet perfect, it is the beginning of something.
As well as protecting the animals it is also important to design to protect the planet and their habitats. Therefore sustainable and eco-friendly designs are crucial today. Brands such as ‘Chilly’s’ have created minimalistic resuable bottle and cup designs to try to put a stop to the consumption of single use plastics and non-recyclable coffee cups. By having people design vibrant and cool reusable bottles, it will encourage purchases and help people begin to think about how one purchase could be a substitute for repeat purchases of single use plastics that will end up in the ocean. Chilly’s decribes their product as ‘modern and stylish product designed to combine the convenience of a plastic water bottle, with the high performance technology and eco-friendly benefits of a traditional flask.’ It is essential that we support brands with a environmental based mission. We need more brands like this to come up with new, innovative products that will reduce our waste.
As mentioned previously advertisements can have a major impact, encouraging consumerism and the purchase of unsustainable products that can damage our environment. However advertisements also have the power to push for change, and making consumers aware of harmful products that they may not have known about before. A recent example of this is the palm oil advert campaign created by Lidl. Despite the controversy and being banned the advert highlighted the devastating impact that palm oil has on animals such as the orangutan’s environment. It was ranked the ‘most powerful’ advert of Christmas 2018 gaining over 65 million views. The family friendly animation showed the orangutan telling a story about deforestation and ended with Lidl telling their consumers that they will stop selling products that uses the ingredient. Palm oil is an ingredient used in over 50 percent of consumer goods and finding an alternative can be difficult. Many people were unaware of this issue before the advert, therefore it shows how important animators, designers and marketing teams are when trying to raise awareness. This project has reached over 65 million people, possibly encouraging them to make changes with their purchases, if more designers could help support causes such as the palm oil issue, it could be really influential.
Overall I think design is guilty of having a negative effect on the wellbeing of animals and more specifically their habitat. The continuous use of advertisements and false advertisements can manipulate people to consume more, or not consume environmentally friendly products, therefore leading to pollution and destruction of animals habitats. However I do believe designers are also trying to help the cause. As discussed, we can see exmaples of designers working with scientists to create new technologies that will help the wellbeing of animals directly. As well as designers creating products for the animals they are working to create more eco-friendly and ehtical designs that will positivity impact the planet. Also by creating ad campaigns that let consumers know more about the products that they are buying designers can influence a change in peoples lifestyle. In conclusion I believe that designers can help improve the lives on endangered species if we begin to be cautious about who we support and advertise for. If designers contine to work with scientists and come up with new ideas I believe it could create a massive impact.
References
Crocker, R.,2017. Someone Else’s Problem : Consumerism, Sustainability and Design. 2nded. New York: Routledge.
Hitti, N., 201. Graduates deisgn responsive devices to help animals survive extinction. [online] Available at <https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/19/royal-college-of-art-graduates-design-animals-survive-extinction-tech-design/> [Accessed on 25 April 2019]
Mayell, H., 2004. As Consumerism Spreads, Earth Suffers, Study Says. [online] Available at <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2004/01/consumerism-earth-suffers/> [Accessed on 25 April 2019]
McDonald,C., 2015. How many Earths do we need?.[online] Available at <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33133712> [Accessed on 25 April 2019]
Nuwer, R., 2017High Above, Drones Keep Watchful Eyes on Wildlife in Africa. The New York Times, [online] Available at <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/science/drones-africapoacherswildlife.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FEndangered%20and%20Extinct%20Species&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=inline&version=latest&contentPlacement=27&pgtype=collection> [Accessed on 25 April 2019]
Truth in Advertising., 2017. Kauai’s ‘100% compostable Coffee Pods. [online]Available at <https://www.truthinadvertising.org/kauais-100-compostable-coffee-pods/>[Accessed on 26 April 2019]
