Down With Disposable

For some time, we have been wanting to plant bamboo in our yard. We like the idea of having a living fence rather than a constructed one. We also want to harvest bamboo in order to make our own teapot handles. We know it might take over, but I'd rather have more trees than grass any day.

On the drive over, I spent a lot of time thinking about why it was important for us to get these plants. I didn't have great answer except they are pretty, green, and it is one less thing I'd have to order and have shipped.

I drove through mile after mile of mountainsides covered with apple orchards and thought about the environmental impact of making pottery. We strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the way we run our studio. We use as little water as possible, never waste clay, avoid glazes with heavy metals and so on. We currently fire in an efficient electric kiln - the most energy efficient kiln on the market.

But even if we didn't do all of that, I feel that creating pottery is a good environmental choice. We are not contributing to the disposable attitude. Instead, we are striving to create heirlooms and treasures. Rather than another plastic dish that will crack in a few years, we are creating pieces that can last centuries. Our pieces come from a small studio concerned with the environment while store bought mugs are produced in huge factories concerned only with their profit margins. Is it worth it to consumers to spend a little more on something they will treasure for a lifetime or would they rather spend less on next year's garage sale fodder?