WORKING. HERE’S HOW WE CAN BUILD SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS FROM THE GROUND UP.

The Featheralist A FOCUS ON RECYCLING ISN’T WORKING. HERE’S HOW WE CAN BUILD SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS FROM THE

GROUND UP. Written by Shreena Dayal, ‘25 | Designed by Daisy Zhang, ’24

You’ve probably thrown something in the trash over the past day. Perhaps a food wrapper, a plastic water bottle, or the packaging from your latest Amazon order? While less frequently, you’ve probably also thrown out old electronic devices, clothes, and unusable furniture. All of this trash added up to about 4.9 pounds of waste being thrown out per person in 2018. The answer to this trash conundrum is simple isn’t it? Just recycle everything! If the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) have been around since the 1970’s, why do Americans continue to create more and more waste every year?

The current “take, make, use, lose” model is known as a linear economy. We rst see such an economic model emerge during the Industrial Revolution as products began to be made in bulk for the mass market. This increase in manufacturing was built o the back of colonization which ensured the global availability of raw materials. A er a plethora of cultural movements, economic changes, political changes, and two world wars, the ability to buy and easily dispose of cheap consumer goods became somewhat of a status symbol. Thus, the painstaking work (and price) of individual cra smen was replaced by mass production o en powered by outsourced and exploited factory workers. While most, if not the entire, consumer goods sector is built on linear economies, the fashion and consumer electronics industries best exemplify the negative e ects of the model. Fast fashion, an issue currently in the cultural spotlight, is an industry pattern characterized by extremely fast trend cycles and produce-use-discard cycles. At its fastest, clothes from SHEIN, a major player in fast fashion, only take one week from the design of a piece to shipping to the customer. Workers are paid per piece sewn rather than per hour.

“The current “take, make, use, lose” model is known as a linear economy.”

Additionally, they are not allowed to leave before their quota of hundreds of garments is completed. The hurry leads to poorly sewn, cheap clothes which are treated as disposal by the in uencers who buy thousands of dollars worth of SHEIN products to create “haul” videos. In this way, the desire for cheap, instantaneous, micro-trend-following clothing has grown. These clothes only add to the massive piles of garbage simply sitting on Earth. In addition, since most fast fashion clothing uses synthetic fabrics like polyester, it doesn’t biodegrade as easily as clothing made from natural fabrics like cotton.

Another industry focused on fast consumption and questionable disposal is the consumer electronics industry. Through techniques such as convincing advertisements and planned obsolescence, customers are maneuvered into buying a new phone every year. Planned obsolescence is a method that includes the practice of arti cially limiting the life of the product and reducing options for repair. While it originated in the lightbulb industry, planned obsolescence has since spread throughout the consumer goods sector, leading to the unnecessary disposal of many usable or repairable products. However, electronics in particular are extremely hard to dispose of. Many products, instead of truly being recycled, are sent to countries in the Global South. There, the products are taken apart by workers who likely don’t have the correct protective equipment and don’t receive good pay. Workers who take apart electronics for the metal parts are exposed to toxic chemicals and dangerous working conditions, a reality that the tech companies making the products, as well as the consumers, o en ignore. The disposal of electronics in countries in the Global South can be considered a form of “environmental racism”. The persistence of the “take, make, use, lose” model is the cause of these harsh environmental conditions the workers must endure. Now that we know the problem, how might we x the global economy to take these issues into account?

This is where the circular economy model comes in. Circular economies are circular in nature, meaning they focus on reducing production in general and reusing and recycling materials if necessary. Within a circular economy, products are designed with the end of their life in mind. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a system in which the producer is held responsible for the disposal and other environmental e ects of the product, may also be implemented. The circular economy model works to create an economy that doesn’t rely on the use and disposal of nite resources. Within the consumer electronics industry, this might mean fewer releases of new, barely-improved tech. It also includes the “right-to-repair” movement which focuses on keeping the ability to repair in the hands of the consumer. Within the fashion industry, it means the reduction of production by reducing trend-related demand. The clothes that are produced should be high quality and meant to last. In addition, sustainable materials should be used for e ective reuse and recycling.

These changes might be extremely hard because we live in a society dominated by pro t-hungry corporations. Real change within the industry can only be enacted by companies, who will need motivation from consumers and the government. However, as an individual, you can take action by being more conscious of your consumption. As always, make sure to replace single use plastics with more sustainable alternatives like cloth bags and metal water bottles. I promise, you don’t need a new phone every year. Your current phone works just ne. In addition, you can reuse old semi- and fully-working electronics. For example, you can use an old phone as an iPod-style music player instead of letting it go to waste. In terms of clothing, you can shop at brands that o er long-lasting, environment-friendly clothing. A er all, which is better? Buying clothing that costs $50 but lasts you years or buying a “disposable” piece that costs only $2 but the health of the environment.

“Within a circular economy, products are designed with the end of their life in mind.”

10 Months of Plastic Water Bottles

Nicole Pi, ‘23 Mixed media

RAIN

Written by Riya Patil, '24 | Designed by Angela Chen, '25

Someone once told her that rain was the purest form of water there was.

They said that each shape of water represented something di erent. Something obscure, that was hard to de ne.

Water in itself is an enigma.

It twists and ows like a river, or dances and oats like mist. The lovely and calming sound of a stream versus the raging harsh pull of a whirlpool. It is mischievous and cunning, changing its shape to conform to the ones it comes across.

She could vaguely remember what he had told her about the water while they stared out into the waves.

Careful. It might seem gentle, but the waves can sweep you away in an instant. No one will hear your cries then.

Her book bag weighed her down and she trudged through the wet, darkened concrete that made up the sidewalk. Droplets of water landed on her head, rolling down her hair and dripping onto the ground.

She kept up a fast pace, her shoes splashing through the murky puddles, trying to nd sanctuary somewhere from the relentless downpour. She spotted an empty bus stop, its bench speckled with raindrops but otherwise dry. Coughing slightly, she beelined to the bench and sat herself down, dropping her bag beside her shivering feet.

As she regained some of her composure, she rubbed her cold hands against the thin fabric lining her arms. She let out a so and quiet exhale, her breath condensing into fog and then dissipating into the air just as quickly.

Pulling the handle of the bag up to her lap, she ddled with the strap for a couple seconds, watching rain droplets fall out onto the sidewalk and cover the hoods of cars parked down the stretch of the street. Darkness shrouded the nearby buildings, and in the silent moment that followed it occurred to her that it might be quite dangerous for her.

Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Other students from the university hurried past her bench, whispering hurriedly to each other, safe under umbrellas that she foolishly didn’t have the forethought to bring. Most of them were her classmates, but they probably wouldn’t bother acknowledging her presence. In fact, they probably didn’t know she existed. It was justi ed. She never spoke during class, never made an appearance at any college parties, and was one of the lucky few that didn’t have to room with another person. Some people in her high school used to rumor that she was mute.

They weren’t that far o , she thought as she rubbed her arms to keep warm. She folded her hands in her lap and closed her eyes, listening to the rain fall.

What was it about rain that he had told me about?

Rain. It was the essence of the human soul, from what she remembered. The droplets that fall from the sky start o clean and untouched, but once they fall to the ground, they lose that precious purity they once held. People are also like rain, progress ing from childhood to maturity like a single droplet out of hundreds falling from the sky.

It was easier to admit that maybe rain was just rain. Just condensed moisture that falls from the clouds in small droplets, and nothing more than that.

She could recall when water was nothing more than a simple form of entertainment to her, pushing the limits of her imagination. The feeling of watching waves crashing against a shore at night, or snow akes dropping silently to the ground during the barren days of winter still make her shiver in awe.

Her childhood days were spent in fascination with how water manipulates itself into di erent forms. She remembered sitting for hours at the windowsill, counting the several drops of water that fell from the sky, wondering what rain really said about a person.

People used to give her an odd look when she asked that question, and at some point she stopped asking it.

Her eyes uttered open, squinting to adjust again to the semi-bright streetlights that illuminated the rainy roads. She sighed and tightened her hold around herself as a particularly chilly wind blew by, tossing a couple stray drops onto her face.

Thinking about the past always brought a heavy feeling to her chest. Maybe it was remembering the hours spent lounging in front of the window. Maybe it was how comparing people to water made her feel. Maybe it was that if she talked more, it would be easier to believe that the world isn’t just lled with naive and ignorant people.

“Are you okay?”

She startled, looking up into the clearest eyes she’d ever seen. The light blue swirled with speckles of green, cleaner than any ocean she’d been to. It belonged to a kind face, expression scrunched in slight confusion and amusement.

“I’m guessing you’re okay, since you noticed me,” he said lightly when she didn’t answer, sitting down on the edge of the bench. “Deep in thought, huh?” She opened her mouth before closing it a second later, and just nodded. He would go away soon enough and leave her alone, just like they usually do.

“Not much of a talker are you?” he hu ed out a laugh. “That’s ne. Quiet people usually spend more time in their heads, which makes them interesting to listen to when they do decide to talk.”

She blinked, and turned her head towards him.

Interesting?

“What makes them so interesting to you?” she heard herself saying, her voice slightly scratchy from being unused.

She instantly shut her mouth, surprised at herself for initiating conversation. If she had said nothing,

he would have le , and that would have been it.

His slight smile turned into a satis ed grin, “I don’t know. They just always have something refreshing to say.”

“Refreshing,” she repeated. Her mind told her to shut up but the words just tumbled out of her mouth like water bursting from a dam.

“Like rain. The rain is rather refreshing, but only when it rst falls. Once it mixes with all the dirt and lth from the ground, it gets tainted and uninteresting. Like people.”

If he was surprised or bewildered by her rant, he didn’t show it even though he had just been proven right. Instead he nodded thoughtfully, “I agree, but what if it doesn’t hit the ground?” know.

“I suppose so,” she said quietly. Her gaze stayed in her lap for a while longer, until she saw him shi in her peripheral vision.

She turned, in time to see her stranger-turned-companion stand up. He had his umbrella opened in one hand, and extended it in her direction.

She must have had an extremely confused expression on her face, because he chuckled a little and clari ed, “You don’t have an umbrella and we’re going in the same direction, so let’s just go together.”

Her eyebrows raised, but before she could open her mouth he explained, “I see you sometimes in the library, we go to the same university.”

Oh. She had never seen him before. Pursing her lips, she nodded and stood up, leaning down to pick her bag o the oor. He knew who she was, but she didn’t know him. All her life, she’d been the observant one and barely anyone noticed her. It never occurred to her that maybe she was also like one of those contaminated raindrops. A er all, almost everyone is a ected by the less than pretty parts of life, and she is no exception.

She stole a glance at him as they walked down the street, wondering what compelled him to come and sit beside her when he clearly could’ve just gone back to his dorm. Maybe he saw her and thought she looked pathetic, and decided to talk to her out of pity.

Or maybe he was one of the other raindrops. The ones that don’t hit the ground. The ones that don’t get tainted. He was someone she never had the experience of being around before. The kind who li you up and make you see things from a di erent perspective.

The rain stopped halfway through their walk back to the dorms, so he pulled down the umbrella and shook it o before closing it. The silence was simple and comfortable, something she never thought she might enjoy.

A random drop of water fell in front of her, hitting the damp sidewalk and joining the rest that had fallen earlier. She continued walking, stepping through the puddles of murky water pooled at her feet.

What if it doesn’t hit the ground? A slight shiver ran through her, even though she wasn’t the slightest bit cold anymore.

“If it doesn’t hit the ground, then it can’t be tainted right? Some people are like that too, they just don’t let themselves get a ected by the dark parts,” he said thoughtfully, before turning back to face her.

Her eyes dropped down to her lap, where her hands had started shivering again. Whether it was from the cold, or from something else, she didn’t Stopping at a crosswalk, she turned to him, wanting to say something. Sorry for taking your time? Thank you for walking with me? What’s your name?

Another stray drop fell, this time right on his nose, and he blinked, staring cross-eyed at it. It rolled o the tip of his nose and he opened his mouth and caught it. She let out a surprised laugh.

He looked at her with confusion. “What’s so funny?” “Nothing,” she said simply as the sign switched to walk, and they continued down the street.

She thought rain was the purest form of water, like a human soul. But are raindrops ever so pure?

Well, maybe some of them are.