Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mrs. Dhami.

Thank you for joining me for your Design and Technology lesson today.

Another big question for today is how can decisions at the manufacturing and materials processing stage impact both developed and developing countries? And we're going to explore this using the simple cotton t-shirt.

So hard hats on, let's get cracking.

Our outcome for today is we will be able to explain the impact of decisions at the manufacturing and materials stage.

We have three keywords today.

Carbon emissions, which is the volume of carbon produced contributing to global warming, Fairtrade, which is a system that ensures farmers and workers receive fair prices, decent working conditions, and support for community development through trade.

And lastly, we have living income, which is the amount of money that is needed for a household to have a decent standard of living.

We have two learning cycles today, manufacture and materials processing and then we move on to investigate.

So let's get started with manufacture and materials processing.

The circular economy can be defined as an economic system where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste.

Now this is shown really clearly by the circular economy diagram, because if you zoom your eyes into the waste stage, that is the yellow stage, and you'll notice it is the smallest stage out of the whole diagram.

Now, that is done on purpose because within the circular economy, we want to try and minimise waste, or if possible even eradicate it.

Let's zoom into the manufacture and materials processing stage.

At the manufacture and materials processing stage, decisions can be made to reduce the environmental impact.

Now, my question to you is, what could these decisions be? I'd like you to have a little think, perhaps tell the person next to you, perhaps tell me.

Come back to me ready for the next slide once you've got a few ideas.

Let's take a little look and see if some of your ideas match some of my ideas for how to reduce environmental impact at the manufacture and materials processing stage.

So you could use renewable energy sources and materials, such as biopolymers.

You could focus on reducing waste and encouraging recycling.

You could work hard to protect habitats and regeneration, such as replanting trees.

You could prevent dangerous chemicals leaking into water supplies.

And you could reduce the amount of transport between manufacturing stages.

Let's take a closer look at each of these stages.

The processing of materials can use huge amounts of energy and produce carbon emissions.

Now, carbon emissions is one of our keywords today, so let's remind ourselves what that means.

So carbon emissions is the volume of carbon produced contributing to global warming.

So obviously we want to reduce the amount of carbon emissions.

But carbon emissions are produced in huge quantities when processing iron ore into steel and when processing crude oil into polymers.

So sustainable design decisions need to be made.

And some of those design decisions include using renewable energy sources for processing, but also avoiding having to process new materials and instead using recycled materials.

These decisions can be encouraged through government taxes on carbon emissions and then grants and subsidies for the use of renewable sources of energy.

These are things that are obviously going to encourage companies and businesses to use and make greener decisions.

Think back to the circular economy and that yellow stage of the circular economy, the waste stage.

Remember, we wanted that to be as small as possible.

So reducing waste or finding waste to recycle the waste into other materials, or products, or sources of energy reduces the effect on the environment, such as: melting sprues and offcuts of polymers back into raw materials reduces the amount of waste, wood chips that might otherwise have been waste can be used to make biomass fuel for a factory.

So it's reducing the waste, but it's being recycled into a source of energy.

Great ideas.

Mining and harvesting raw materials can cause habitat loss, deforestation, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss.

One way to reduce this is by sustainable forestry, which includes planting new trees or selective logging, where only a limited number of trees are felled rather than a whole forest, trying to keep some of the forests more intact.

The use of chemicals can have a negative impact on the environment, destroying habitats and contaminating water.

For example, farming.

Some farmers use fertilisers or pesticides.

If these leak out or get into the waterways, they can contaminate water, which is why lots of people are starting to go for more organic foods which don't contain those pesticides.

Same with polymer manufacturing.

Additives can be added to the polymers to change the way they look or the way that they behave.

So additives such as pigments for the colour or stabilisers to give a polymer UV protection and stop it from going so brittle in sunlight, these again, these stabilisers, these additives, these pigments, can leak into the water system and contaminate our water.

There are alternatives, such as natural dyes.

So, for example, beetroot.

Beetroot can dye fabrics a lovely kind of redy pinky colour.

So alternatives such as natural dyes can be considered with different uses to avoid the use of additives and chemicals.

Reduction in transportation between stages of manufacture will reduce carbon emissions.

So, for example, locating stages close to each other means less miles need to be travelled, which means less carbon emissions.

They could also use hybrid or electric vehicles to reduce the amounts of carbon emissions from the actual travel itself.

Time for a quick check-in.

I'd like you to identify the methods to reduce the environmental impact at the manufacture and materials processing stage of the circular economy.

So we have a, eliminating use of toxic chemicals, b, using renewable sources of energy, c, using crude oil, and d, using recycled materials.

Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got some great ideas.

Well done if you've got a, b and d.

Eliminating use of toxic chemicals, using renewable sources of energy, and using recycled materials are all methods to reduce the environmental impact at the manufacture and materials processing stage.

In developing countries, a high proportion of the population are employed in the manufacturing and materials processing stage of the circular economy in primary industries such as mining, farming, and fishing.

Unfortunately, though, very little of the money made from these products is passed on to the workers.

Manufacturing and materials processing can have a negative impact on the environment and raise ethical concerns.

These effects are often harder to regulate in developing countries due to weaker environmental laws and enforcement.

Now, you might have come across Fairtrade before.

If you have, which products have you noticed with the Fairtrade logo on? Have a little think.

Perhaps think back to the last time you were in a supermarket and think of some of the products that you might see in there.

Which ones might have the Fairtrade logo on? Have a think.

Come back to me ready for the next slide once you've had a think and perhaps a chat to the person next to you.

Alex says, "I have noticed the Fairtrade logo on a sticker on bananas." Put your hand up if you have also noticed the Fairtrade logo on bananas.

Okay, let's see what other products you might have got.

Perhaps you noticed it on coffee beans.

Perhaps you noticed it on chocolate packaging.

Perhaps you noticed it on sugar packaging too.

So Fairtrade, what is it? Fairtrade is an international system that seeks to address problems of the global trade system by supporting producers in developing countries.

To understand Fairtrade properly, we first need to be able to understand what living income means.

So living income is the amount of money that is needed for a household to have a decent standard of living.

Now that includes a lot of things, including housing, food, water, education, healthcare, transport, and clothing.

What a lot.

Now the living income in developing countries is less than two pound a day.

Now, I know I could not provide all of that for my family in less than two pound a day.

But it gets worse.

Despite this, the average daily income of a cocoa farmer in Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa is less than half at a mere 74 pence per day.

Wow.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to work, the right to be paid for that work, and the right to an adequate standard of living.

But as we've just shown on the last slide, that does not always happen.

So in comes the support of Fairtrade.

Fairtrade provides what we call the Fairtrade price, which ensures a minimum price which helps cover the cost of production and gives financial stability to families and communities.

Fairtrade also aims to produce the Fairtrade premium, which helps build stronger and healthier communities, and it also aims to give workers good working conditions.

And we're gonna cover these in a bit more detail over the next few slides.

Firstly, time for a quick check-in.

What does the term living wage mean? Is it a, the minimum amount a worker can legally be paid in a country, b, a salary high enough to afford luxuries and travel, c, the amount of money a person needs to afford a decent standard of living, or d, the average income in a developed country? Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got an idea.

Well done if you got c.

The living wage is the amount of money a person needs to afford a decent standard of living.

Let's take a closer look at Fairtrade price.

So Fairtrade price is the minimum price that buyers must pay producers for their goods, such as coffee or bananas, even if the value drops.

Let's take a closer look at Fairtrade premium.

So Fairtrade premium is an extra sum of money paid on top of the Fairtrade price.

Now this money goes into a communal fund, or cooperative, for farmers or workers to invest in projects that they choose, such as education, healthcare, clean water, or improving their farms. It also is used to educate farmers with environmentally-friendly farming practises, such as use of and disposal of chemicals in farming to protect the water systems. Onto Task A, Part 1.

I'd like you to match the terms to the definitions.

So the terms are Fairtrade price, Fairtrade premium, and living income.

First definition is investment for the community to help build stronger, healthier communities.

Definition two, the minimum price that must be paid to producers like farmers for their goods when sold under Fairtrade standards.

And definition three, the amount of money that is needed for a household to have a decent standard of living.

Good luck.

Have a go, match them up.

Come back to me when you've got a good idea.

Hopefully you have got Fairtrade premium with investment for the community to help build stronger, healthier communities.

Fairtrade price, the minimum price that must be paid to producers like farmers for their goods when sold under Fairtrade standards.

And lastly, living income, the amount of money that is needed for a household to have a decent standard of living.

The diagram shows the circular economy.

For Part 2, I would like you to label the missing stages in the circular economy.

Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got a couple of ideas.

Hopefully you identified that the raw materials stage was missing and so was the manufacture and materials processing stage.

Part 3, I'd like you to identify three ways that environmental impact can be reduced at the manufacture and materials processing stage.

And then lastly, Part 4, I'd like you to explain how Fairtrade helps to reduce the environmental impact at this stage.

Good luck.

Use all your fantastic knowledge.

And come back to me when you've got some great answers.

Part 3, your answers could include: so for three ways that the environmental impact can be reduced at the manufacture and materials processing stage could be the use of renewable energy such as wind, solar, or geothermal, recycling materials to reduce waste during manufacture, and preventing contamination of water from chemicals.

And lastly, for Part 4, I asked you how can Fairtrade reduce the environmental impact at this stage.

So answers could include: Fairtrade helps support businesses and farmers to reduce their environmental impact at the manufacture and materials processing stage through education.

This could include environmentally-friendly farming practises, such as use of and disposal of chemicals in farming to prevent the contamination of water and to protect habitats.

Well done with all of your hard work in this learning cycle.

Onto learning cycle two, investigate.

Cotton t-shirts are a common item of clothing.

And I'm gonna take a wild guess here.

I bet everybody in your classroom owns a cotton t-shirt.

Put your hand up if you do.

I imagine that is most of the class.

I bet you all own at least one.

But you probably worn that cotton t-shirt a lot.

But have you ever thought about how it was actually manufactured? So that's what this learning cycle is all about.

We're going to investigate the common cotton t-shirt.

So first of all, I'd like you to consider these questions.

Where do you think the cotton comes from? How do you think the cotton might be processed? How do you think the t-shirt is manufactured? And what potential environmental impacts are there from the manufacture and materials processing of the cotton t-shirt? So I'd like you to pause the video.

I'd like you to either have a think personally, have a chat with the person next to you, or a class discussion about these questions.

Come back to me and we'll move on to the next slide.

A typical t-shirt begins its life on a farm in America, China, or India.

Cotton seeds are sewn, watered, and grown for the fluffy bolls.

Around 2,700 litres, that's the equivalent to 30 bathtubs of water, are required to produce just one t-shirt.

Let's think about that.

That is basically how much water it would take if you had a bath every single day for a whole month just to make that one t-shirt.

Wow.

Insecticides and pesticides are commonly used when growing cotton.

Right, there's a bit of environmental impact.

Let's take a little look at that a bit more closely.

More insecticides and pesticides are used with growing cotton than any other crop in the world, which damages surrounding ecosystems, contaminates water, and are carcinogenic to the farmers.

Not good news.

Organic cotton does not use pesticides, but that only makes up to 1% of the cotton industry.

Fairtrade, so Fairtrade comes into this.

Fairtrade educate farmers on the use of chemicals and about reducing them and about safely using them if they are going to use them.

Let's carry on on the cotton journey.

So next, the fluffy bolls are harvested.

The fluffy bolls are then separated from the seeds in something called a mechanical cotton gin.

Then the cotton lint is pressed into bales.

22.

7 billion kilogrammes of cotton are produced worldwide each year.

That is the equivalent weight of 2,500 Eiffel Towers.

That is a lot of cotton.

Time for a quick check-in.

Insecticides and pesticides can a, damage ecosystems, b, be carcinogenic to workers, c, be recycled, or d, contaminate water? Have a read, have a think, come back to me when you've got an answer.

Well done if you've got a, b, and d.

So insecticides and pesticides can damage ecosystems, be carcinogenic to workers, and contaminate water.

The pressed bales are then shipped to a spinning facility, which is usually in China or India.

I can see all your lights lighting up there going, "Environmental impact," and you're absolutely right.

As we know, moving materials from one location to another produces many carbon emissions.

And this might be a point where alternative forms of transport, such as hybrid vehicles or electric vehicles, may come into play to reduce the environmental impact.

Let's carry on on the cotton journey.

High-tech machines then blend, card, comb, pull, stretch, and twist the cotton into yarn.

What a lot of different moves, it's like a dance.

Yarn is then weaved into fabric.

Again, the environmental impact, of course lots of machinery is being used with all those many moves, and twists, et cetera.

So machinery uses high volumes of energy and again produces carbon emissions.

Renewables could obviously be considered here.

The cotton is treated with chemicals until they turn soft and white.

And sometimes this process is repeated.

It's then bleached and dyed, and again, sometimes repeated depending on the shade of the colour, with around 70% of it used to make textiles.

However, harmful compounds and chemicals can cause widespread contamination if released as toxic waste into rivers and oceans.

Dyes often contain cancer-causing cadmium, lead, chromium, and mercury.

Disposal can impact the environment, so how they are disposed of is crucial.

There are alternatives such as natural dyes, natural dyes such as beetroot.

Beetroot can dye cotton a kind of pinky, purplely colour, and it works really quite well.

So there are alternatives which could be considered.

Fairtrade educate farmers on the use of chemicals, and if they have to use them, how to use them as safely as they can, but also how to dispose of them in the best way, and also educating them on alternatives too.

Fabric travels to other countries such as Bangladesh, China, India, or Turkey to be sewn into the t-shirt.

So they're on the move again.

So I imagine you can think the environmental impact, we've seen it before, it's moving materials from one location to another, producing more carbon emissions.

The fabric then is sewn into the t-shirts themselves, finally, after all of that.

So clothing production accounts for over 10% of global carbon emissions.

That's a huge amount for clothing.

So my question to you is why is this? I'd like you to pause the video.

I'd like you to have a think.

I'd like you to perhaps write down your answers or chat to the person next to you, perhaps tell me.

Come back to me when you've had that opportunity.

Perhaps some of you might have mentioned the words fast fashion, and if you did, then you're absolutely correct.

So what is fast fashion? Well, let's describe it simply.

If you were to walk into a clove shop or a shoe shop, let's say, and you see a nice pair of trainers that you like the look of, and you think, "Oh, they're really nice, they're really trendy, I'll buy those.

Perhaps I can persuade a family member to buy them or perhaps I've got enough pocket money saved up that I can buy them." So you buy them.

Yet, your old trainers at home are still absolutely fine.

They still work, but you no longer want to wear those anymore because you've got the brand new, beautiful ones that you have just bought.

This is fast fashion.

Because the others don't not work anymore, you just don't want to wear them.

So I've put here: fast fashion is when clothing is produced quickly and cheaply to keep up with the latest trends.

Such high demand leads to high production, but many of these clothes are often thrown away by consumers, just like that pair of trainers, or even by businesses if they go unsold before the styles or the new fashions come out.

And that is fast fashion.

And that is why clothing production, including trainers, accounts for over 10% of global carbon emissions.

Time for a quick check-in.

Clothing production accounts for over something of carbon emissions.

Is it a, 5%, b, 8%, c, 10%, or d, 12%? Have a little think.

Come back to me when you've got a good answer.

Well done if you got c.

Clothing production accounts for over 10% of carbon emissions.

Bangladesh employs 4.

5 million people in the t-shirt industry.

Wow, what a huge figure.

Many of these people unfortunately face low wages and poor working conditions.

Fairtrade is working for these people.

Fairtrade is working towards a Fairtrade price to enable a fair wage, which consequently will help to reach a living income where people can enjoy a decent standard of living.

They're also working towards a Fairtrade premium to give communities, such as these in Bangladesh, opportunities such as access to clean water and education.

And they are also working towards providing safe and positive working conditions for these people.

Onto Task B.

Part 1, I would like you to match each stage of cotton production with a sustainable decision that could help reduce its environmental impact.

So those sustainable decisions include protecting habitats and regeneration, prevention of chemicals into water supplies, reduction in transport between stages, and renewable energy sources and materials.

Have a think, have a go at matching them.

Come back to me when you've got some great matches.

Hopefully you matched the chemicals, the use of chemicals, with protecting habitats.

So we've got protecting habitats and regeneration by considering use of chemicals or finding alternatives, like those natural dyes that we talked about earlier.

We then have renewable energy sources and materials during production.

We then have reduction in transport between stages by locating production close together.

And that's shown with the map.

And lastly, we have the dyes, prevention of chemicals into water supplies by careful disposal so that they are disposed of safely to save the water supply.

Part 2, explain how Fairtrade can be used to improve lives of those involved with the production of a cotton t-shirt.

You could consider Fairtrade price, Fairtrade premium, working conditions, and environmental impact.

Have a great go at this question.

Come back to me when you've got some lovely ideas.

Answers could include Fairtrade price for farmers.

Fairtrade ensures cotton farmers are paid a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable farming.

This helps them afford food, shelter, education, and healthcare.

Fairtrade premium.

Farmers and workers receive extra money to spend on improving their community.

This could go towards building schools, clean water, or health clinics.

Safer working conditions.

Fairtrade encourages better working environments in cotton-processing factories.

And lastly, environmental protection.

Fairtrade supports farming practises that are kinder to the environment, like using less water or avoiding harmful chemicals.

This brings us to the end of our lesson today.

Let's summarise what we have found out.

Manufacturing and materials processing can have a negative impact on the environment, producing carbon emissions.

Sustainable decisions include using renewable sources of energy or materials, recycling, protecting habitats and water sources.

A living income is the amount of money that is needed for a household to have a decent standard of living.

Fairtrade is the system that ensures farmers and workers receive fair prices, the Fairtrade price, decent working conditions, and support for sustainable community development through trade, which is the Fairtrade premium.

Well done with all of your hard work today.

And I hope to see you in another lesson soon.

Take good care.

Bye-bye-bye.