Sustainability

Societies and economies are fundamentally reliant on the natural world which means living within environmental constraints. The future of all living things depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.

This capacity to endure is called Sustainability; a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth.

Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainability in action. Natural chemical cycles redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon through the world's living and nonliving systems, and have sustained life for millions of years.

With the increase in human populations, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of natural cycles have had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems to such an extent that we are compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and contributing to the rapid advancement of global climate change.

In an effort to live more sustainably, we would need to consider where and how we live and work; new ideas on economics; green technologies and renewable resources, all of which requires us all to make adjustments to our lifestyles.

Starting in 1994, the Earth Charter Commission developed a 2,400 word document outlining a statement of common ethical values towards sustainability that recognises humanity's shared responsibility to the Earth and to each other. The Earth Charter's ethical vision proposes that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible. The Charter attempts to provide a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues in order to build a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century.

Your Planet needs you! Unite to combat climate change

From the 1950’s a huge surge in human enterprise has imposed itself on our physical resources. A growing group of concerned people began to point out that there were significant environmental costs associated with the material benefits that were now being enjoyed by growing populations. Innovations in technology (including plastics, synthetic chemicals, and nuclear energy) and the increasing use of fossil fuels began to transform society and intensive agriculture evolved from the development of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides which had devastating consequences for rural wildlife, as documented by Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring (1962).

An alternative view to the traditional idea that all non-human life - minerals, plants and animals - are in limitless supply, is to conserve resources through more effective manufacturing processes, use of renewable materials, the reuse of materials, a change in values from quantity to quality, and restoring and sustaining natural resources. Using methods such as Life Cycle Analysis or Ecological Footprint analysis provide basic indicators of sustainability on various scales. In 2005, humanity's total ecological footprint was estimated to be at 1.3 planet Earths.

Clearly we all need to be making better choices because many of our planet’s resources are finite and will eventually run out. Before that, they are likely to become scarce and expensive. As consumers, we can start to make some difference by choosing products that use innovative materials that are more sustainable, and can be produced from renewable sources.

Since the mid 1990’s, Natracare feminine hygiene products have been made from renewable and sustainable materials.

Renewable materials

Renewable materials are substances derived from a living tree, plant, animal or ecosystem which has the ability to regenerate itself. A renewable material can be produced again and again. Usually they are derived from specially grown crop plants, such as organic cotton, corn, beet or flax, as an example, capturing the sun’s energy through the process of photosynthesis, or plantation wood sourced from a forest, provided it is managed in a sustainable way. Renewable and biodegradable materials not only consume less energy in their preparation, but also are less problematic to dispose of at the end of their useful life.

As well as providing us with renewable materials, the crops and trees also capture carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. In this way, using renewables can also help to reduce our carbon footprint as they produce lower greenhouse gas emissions overall than products made from fossil fuels.

Earth's mineral resources are finite, and often energy-intensive, but renewable materials can be produced indefinitely, with strong environmental benefits:

• Renewables will not be depleted if managed properly
• May have reduced net emissions of CO2 across their life cycle compared to materials from fossil fuels
• Result in biodegradable waste
• E.g. Wood is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable

21st century Industry is increasingly dependent on cheap and abundant petroleum oil not only as a fuel, but also as a source of raw materials such as plastics, dyes, textiles, lubricants and medicines. These can be manufactured from plants, for example maize and other starches for bio-plastics, hemp to produce paper, oilseed rape for biodiesel and herbs for pharmaceuticals. As well as being renewable, many plant-based products can be made in biodegradable or non-biodegradable forms. This means they can be tailored to appropriate waste-disposal methods, helping to reduce pollution.

The production and use of bio-plastics is generally regarded as a more sustainable activity when compared with plastic production from crude oil, because it relies less on fossil fuel as a carbon source and also introduces fewer, net-new greenhouse emissions as it biodegrades. They significantly reduce hazardous waste caused by crude oil-derived plastics.

Renewables do have some disadvantages too. They require land to grow on, some of which could alternatively be used to grow food, or left untouched for wildlife. Renewable materials still need energy to process and may be expensive to manufacture. Nevertheless, renewables provide a sustainable way to find the raw materials, fuel and energy we will need to meet our future needs.

Natracare products are made from between 78% and 100% renewable and sustainable materials

Including wood pulp from PEFC and FSC Scandinavian pine wood forests, cotton from certified organic cotton farms, and bioplastic made from GM-free Maize. The only non renewable material we have to use is glue.