nikom chimnok on tue 17 aug 99
Hello Clayarters,
A friend of mine who is in no way connected with ceramics made a
trip to Hokkaido, Japan as part of a trade delegation. One of the things he
inspected with both admiration and dismay was their municipal solid waste
handling system. The highest tech in the world, with conveyors and crushers
and I don't remember what all. But it was his observation as to why they
needed such a fancy system that makes me remember this 15 years later:
Japanese packaging. "Seven times as much as they need," he said, "and it all
ends up in the dump, no matter how beautiful."
I have personal experience with this too. A Japanese company was
going to buy a 20' containerload of hanging planters from us--little fishes
and owls and whatnot. But they wanted to pack it in the Japanese way, with
tissue paper and bubble pack inside white cardboard for the interior boxes,
then master boxes outside that. In the end it became clear that the cost of
the packing was going to be more than the cost of the quality ceramics they
come here and rip us off for (they sell it for about 20 times our price--it
looks like traditional Japanese ware) so the deal was called off.
Needless to say, I am not impressed with Japanese packing. It is
environmentally irresponsible, no matter its aesthetic value. And the same
goes for all of Japanese wood-fired ceramics. That's why they had to
quit--they put themselves out of business with their lengthy firings and the
absurd amount of wood they consume. And in our case, their silly packing
ideals prevented them from exploiting us poor 3rd worlders (and how we love
to be exploited).
So I say wrap in old newspaper, put it in a plastic bag, and take it
home. You're no feudal lord or lady; you're one of 6 billion people living
on a tiny planet with swiftly diminishing resources, and high time to adjust
your aesthetics to reflect this reality.
Regards,
Nikom in Thailand, off to tell the boys to throw another tire in the kiln
Don & Isao Morrill on thu 19 aug 99
At 12:13 8/17/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hello Clayarters,
>
> A friend of mine who is in no way connected with ceramics made a
>trip to Hokkaido, Japan as part of a trade delegation. One of the things he
>inspected with both admiration and dismay was their municipal solid waste
>handling system. The highest tech in the world, with conveyors and crushers
>and I don't remember what all. But it was his observation as to why they
>needed such a fancy system that makes me remember this 15 years later:
>Japanese packaging. "Seven times as much as they need," he said, "and it all
>ends up in the dump, no matter how beautiful."
>
> I have personal experience with this too. A Japanese company was
>going to buy a 20' containerload of hanging planters from us--little fishes
>and owls and whatnot. But they wanted to pack it in the Japanese way, with
>tissue paper and bubble pack inside white cardboard for the interior boxes,
>then master boxes outside that. In the end it became clear that the cost of
>the packing was going to be more than the cost of the quality ceramics they
>come here and rip us off for (they sell it for about 20 times our price--it
>looks like traditional Japanese ware) so the deal was called off.
>
> Needless to say, I am not impressed with Japanese packing. It is
>environmentally irresponsible, no matter its aesthetic value. And the same
>goes for all of Japanese wood-fired ceramics. That's why they had to
>quit--they put themselves out of business with their lengthy firings and the
>absurd amount of wood they consume. And in our case, their silly packing
>ideals prevented them from exploiting us poor 3rd worlders (and how we love
>to be exploited).
>
> So I say wrap in old newspaper, put it in a plastic bag, and take it
>home. You're no feudal lord or lady; you're one of 6 billion people living
>on a tiny planet with swiftly diminishing resources, and high time to adjust
>your aesthetics to reflect this reality.
>
>Regards,
>Nikom in Thailand, off to tell the boys to throw another tire in the kiln
Hi Nikom, Do we take your last sentance as irony or,as in my
neighborhood an observation of criminal intent?
I confess to puzzlement with another country rapidly
destroying all of its resources in the name of "Progress". Apparently you
would replace paper wrappings with petroleum-based plastic bubbles. I
agree, the end of wood-firings in Japan is a blessing for us all. If only
we could encourage Asian countries to follow the same practices and in
addition to stop using old tires,(all petroleum based) perhaps this would
encourage Western countries to follow.
I point out that much of the wood in Japan...as in most
other countries...has been used for billions of cooking-fires. Would you
replace wood with oil a non-renewable resource and a marvel as a
carcinogen? The cost of producing a cubic-metre of wood is probably far
less than producing an equal volume of bubble-wrap which is not degradable
and reusable only with considerable loss in the process.
In a world large enough for all of us to live in peace,
the twin questions of inequitable distribution and increasing concentration
of wealth of this planets resources faces us all.
Don & Isao Sanami-Morrill
| |
|
