In the store, we see labels on the packages that say "green", "eco-friendly", or "CO2 neutral". These terms are used so often that one can get confused about the actual meaning of a product. This is especially difficult to understand when you are in an art or hardware store, and your activity is connected, for example, with the production of sculptures from plexiglass and not with nature protection. There is also the risk that the consumer, in our case an artist, will unknowingly continue to use products or support product that is not sustainable. So, for instance, the inscription "free from phosphates" does not mean that this product is necessarily harmless. Because actually already for a long time phosphates are excluded from production, this is considered the norm and not a declaration of greenness. Or a mere indication that a product is completely natural does not guarantee that the packaging, for example, does not contain microplastic, which is one of the most harmful to the environment. What then is the correct understanding of sustainable and environmentally friendly? What are sustainable materials? How to determine if the paint, aerosol colour or other products are not polluting the environment? How safe is the artist's own activity for human health and the environment? Although many companies proclaim the canon of environmental friendliness and safety, it turned out to be not so easy to understand this issue.
First, it should be clarified what is meant by the absolute "greenness" of the product.
An environmentally friendly product or activity is something that does not harm the environment, ecosystems or a man by its origin, production or utilization.
Next, you need to determine the stages where it is possible and necessary to control sustainability:
1 Purchase or collection of material
2 Components of the material used
3 Art production
4 Lifestyle and ecology of mind
1 Purchase or collection of material
By buying more and more new materials for creating art - brushes, canvases and other items for creating art, we stimulate consumption. The following production is the trigger of the use of gas, electricity or oil and subsequent waste into air, water or earth. The more we buy, the more emissions from the companies that create these items. Therefore, it would be more logical to use what already exists, something that will not entail even more production. Or using things designed to be disposable. For example, any cream or your Amazon order will be delivered to you in a box that is simply designed for the safe delivery of the product. Then it goes into the trash, at best for recycling. But even this processing will cause the expenditure of gasoline for collection and delivery, electricity and gas for recycling. And if this packaging is reused by an artist, then at least part of this process can be avoided.
But artists sometimes needed to buy additional materials for their life activities.
2 Components of the material used
Here we come to the most difficult - how to choose the right eco-friendly product?
The first and easiest is to choose by identification marks.
On the website of the European Commission, there is a list of eco-labels that can be followed by the latest data https://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/ecolabels.pdf
There is also an Ecolabel Index, an international platform that directly tracks them. https://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/
For example, the paints I use bear the Blue Angel label. This is a German label founded in 1974, whose mission is to protect the environment. Independent experts are biologists, chemists, economists, lawyers and engineers who investigate the quality of products and processes.
On the agency's website, I can find the name of my paint in confirmation of the relevance of this eco sign. In the description of the criteria for the "Low Emission Interior Wall Paints" label, I can read the details and names of the ingredients that should/can be excluded from paint production. (Blue Angel [online] At: https://produktinfo.blauer-engel.de/uploads/criteriafile/en/DE-UZ%20102%20201901-en%20Criteria-V4.pdf (Accessed 18.08.2022)
This way of checking a product for "greenness" is quite simple, but not every company receives such certificates and labels.
The second way to choose a product is to understand what are the main chemical killers of the environment and humans.
Volatile Organic Compounds. This is the first thing to learn - abbreviated as the term VOC. VOC refers to a group of chemicals, each of which causes a different degree of harmful effects on humans. These substances are found in paints, varnishes, spray paints, compressed wood, foam and many other materials. They become dangerous when their particles get into the air and we inhale them. In many/some countries required to indicate on the packaging the level of VOC in the product. Therefore, you should choose products with the lowest content of this indicator or less than 50 g VOCs per litter.
Some chemicals that lead to high levels of VOCs:
· ethylene,
· toluene,
· xylene,
· formaldehyde
· benzene
· glycol
· ethyl acetate
· acetone, and
· methylene chloride.
(Public health and Social services [online] At: https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehhm/paint.html(Accessed 22.08.2022))
No formaldehyde-releasing preservatives and additives as so to say no antifungal and antimicrobial paints.
Preservatives and pesticides are added to increase paint life and kill mould and bacteria. But exactly these additives harm the human body and the environment.
Heavy Metals: Mercury and Lead
Before 1978, lead was added to the paint, and before 1990, mercury. Both metals are toxic to humans, and not all countries are following the rules not to use it. It is also better to exclude cadmium and chromium from your pigments.
Crystalline Silica
Latex paints contain crystalline silica, which when inhaled causes lung disease such as silicosis and possibly cancer. (Public health and Social services [online] At: https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehhm/paint.html (Accessed 22.08.2022))
Phthalates
Products that contain plasticising substances from the group of phthalates or group of organophosphates or other comparable substances with a high boiling point may not be added to the low-emission wall paints. (Blauer Engel [online] At: https://produktinfo.blauer-engel.de/uploads/criteriafile/en/DE-UZ%20102%20201901-en%20Criteria-V4.pdf (Accessed 22.08.2022))
These chemicals are added to paint to increase plasticity, but they are also harmful to health and the environment.
Microplastic in paint
The consistency of the paint includes substances such as polyurethanes, polyesters, polyacrylates, polystyrenes, alkyls and epoxies, which are harmful elements to the oceans.
Coalition Clean Baltic, Microplastics in Paints, Coatings and Inks (intentional and non-intentional use) 30-31 May 2018, ECHA, Helsinki [online] At: https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/23964241/09_ccb-durkin_en.pdf/a8ad3bdf-939c-46ae-7fcf-5657a0d15036 (Accessed 22.08.2022)
The main danger lies in the use of paints for vessels, cars, roads and construction. Since when paint gets into sewers, water or directly into the sea or ocean, these particles enter living organisms, and after that, they are found in drinking water and food for humans. Therefore, if it is impossible to refuse such paints, then at least the artists should ensure that the paint does not get into the sewer and open water resources when used.
Spray paints
It is worth separately highlighting spray paints. Most spray paints contain large amounts of VOCs.
And as we know volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pose a danger not only to humans but also contribute to the reduction of the earth's ozone layer.
Hydrocarbons and/or compressed gases, which are part of almost all aerosols, make their sad contribution to global warming.
3 Art production
TAKE – MAKE – WASTE => REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE
In our modern world, we take resources from the earth, make products out of them and then throw them away - this is called a linear economy. And it’s not even just taken, made and thrown away, there are a huge number of negative aspects for the environment at each of the stages.
HOW BAD DESIGN IS DRIVING THE ‘TAKE-MAKE-WASTE’ ECONOMY 19 JAN 2021 [online] At: https://www.whatdesigncando.com/stories/how-bad-design-is-driving-the-take-make-waste-economy/ (Accessed 22.08.2022)
At each stage, we use the resources of land, water and energy. More often, this causes the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere, as well as waste after production and even the waste from the recycling process.
In order to change the harmful attitude towards oneself and the environment, it is necessary to go beyond this, rethink outdated models and correct the mistakes of the past.
A new trending idea is a circular economy. REDUCE - REUSE – RECYCLE
HOW BAD DESIGN IS DRIVING THE ‘TAKE-MAKE-WASTE’ ECONOMY 19 JAN 2021 [online] At: https://www.whatdesigncando.com/stories/how-bad-design-is-driving-the-take-make-waste-economy/ (Accessed 22.08.2022)
The new approach makes you think first of all "WHY?". What will the creation of a new product bring, and what value will it have? If we understand that art is something that, along with religion, is endowed with educational, aesthetic, psychological, philosophical and other needs, then it may be better to reuse or recycle already created materials for creating art.
4 Lifestyle and ecology of mind
On the Internet, you can find a hundred and one tips on how to be eco-friendly, from turning off the light bulbs at home to giving up air travel.
Including helpful tips for artists on using natural-based or milk-based paints, and water-based sprays. If I have not spoken about a product, for example, clay, plaster, epoxy resin, or a method of producing art, such as bronze casting or ceramic firing, I think from my general description and logic one can understand the principles and foundations of creating art that is harmless to humans and nature.
What is more important, I believe, is that the process described above cannot exist without an "ecological" mind.
Gregory Bateson in his book “Steps to an ecology of mind” looks at the incredible contextual connections of everything concerning everything. Understanding this idea was not really easy, Bateson was accused of speaking in riddles and not being clear. “Bateson knows something which he does not tell you” (Bateson, 1987, p.3), but his daughter explained a little later that the main thing he wanted when he talked to her was asking questions! These questions would help to find the connection of things, their influence on each other, context and interconnection. Another important point is that for Bateson, the learning process was at the forefront of everything. For him, the main inspiration came from nature, where a person receives the aesthetic pleasure of connections of all with all. He transferred this perception to art when the viewer can enjoy the aesthetic play of connections created by the artist. Simplifying “Steps to an ecology of mind” can be represented as follows:
It's hard to disagree with an outstanding person who has more specializations than I can remember. But it is easy to accept such an advanced theory if you are a young student and live in a democratic America. I ask myself another question, how to infect with this theory people who are already shackled by stereotypes, propaganda and aggression? To purify nature, we have directly worked out steps - to reduce consumption, shrink production, recycle, and so on. And what steps should states and private individuals take for the ecology of their minds? What can make a person even think in the direction of the ecology of mind?
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
Albert Einstein
Of course, art is a powerful tool for attracting attention, but what should it be in order to interest not people already involved in art, but new, inexperienced viewers?
Another question, what about sugar?
I introduced the concept of "sugar" in 2019 when I analyzed the relevance of Plato's Cave allegory. Is the Allegory of the Cave still valid today and why? - https://www.marinawittemann.com/post/whether-and-why-the-allegory-of-the-cave-valid-today
In this analysis, I call "sugar" everything that generates a homogeneous indifferent mass of the brain and body. «According to this model, companies or governments of states interested in profits, control this “sugar” among the population - distributing it and popularizing it. This leads to a decrease in the level of society, its education and needs, and as history has shown, the stupider the people, the easier it is to manipulate. Accordingly, one group can dominate the other.» - quoting myself.
Therefore, I wonder how one can not be captured or escape from this sugar-coated world of a low and primitive context.
To be continued.
Bibliography and references
1. Bateson, G. (1987) Steps To An Ecology Of Mind. Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. Jason Aronson Inc.
2. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING [online] At: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/a29830418/what-eco-friendly-means/ (Accessed 18.08.2022)
3. Umweltbundesamt [online] At: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/the-uba/about-us (Accessed 18.08.2022)
4. Wikipedia Environmentally friendly [online] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentally_friendly (Accessed 18.08.2022)
5. coating.de [online] At: https://www.coating.de/luftreinigende-wandfarbe/ (Accessed 19.08.2022)
6. “When we find meaning in art, our thinking is most in sync with nature” A Review of An Ecology of Mind - The Gregory Bateson Documentary by Jan van Boeckel 2011 [online] At: http://www.naturearteducation.org/AnEcologyOfMind.htm (Accessed 23.08.2022)
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