“A thousand mile journey starts with a single step”

Lao Tseu

No progress toward a sustainable world can be made without a fundamental change in our mental models. This widely accepted idea sounds simple, but it is probably the most difficult goal in a change effort. Changing mental models implies constantly checking ingrained thoughts, habits and practices which have been successful and efficient for some purposes.

There is no formula for reinventing and recreating mental models. Educating about the big picture of sustainability plays a key role. It adds perspective to every action. The best way is taking small steps that create a positive feedback loop capable of spilling over to new behaviors. Again, the virtue of starting with the low hanging fruit of sustainability…

Merida has many initiatives aimed at changing habits and behaviors regarding the reuse of materials. We have been doing it with printing paper, printer cartridges, eliminating paper cups, plates, etc. An initiative that has larger implications was to stop throwing scraps in the dumpster and start making rugs for donation. Some scraps were large and could make lovely area rugs!! We have donated rugs to Habitat for Humanity to decorate and warm up the houses of their affiliates. We are making rugs for Heading Home, a non-profit providinng shelter for homeless people. Our beautiful rugs will certainly make their environment more welcoming.

Do not underestimate this change!! Throwing scraps in the dumpster was easy, fast and the best business solution since the scraps had no economic value for the company. But, we realized it was a waste of material, of past embodied labor, of transportation cost, of CO₂ emissions, etc. It was just reinforcing the inevitable stress we’ve already put on the environment.

Donating rugs does not necessarily make immediate business sense. It requires material and labor – one of our most expensive resources – for finishing the rugs. This program, however, has been paying off. Our craftspeople and employees feel good about contributing to the well being of people who cannot afford our rugs. More importantly, it is contributing to the mental shift of creating change a more sustainable company.

The reusing idea has become also a concern of our design team. Maegan, Merida’s Creative Director, just came up with a giant floor pillow stuffed with the selvedge of Viewpoint, a flat weave wool rug we manufacture in Fall River, MA.

Check it out in Merida’s Design Blog! There is a cool video on the process of making the floor pillows…

Tags: eco friendly

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 by Zairo and is filed under Sustainability. Both comments and pings are currently closed.