Alora Baby aims to push baby gear away from the ‘landfill economy’
Alora Baby aims to push baby gear away from the 'landfill economy' Yahoo News UK
sdgtalks
Alora Baby: Shifting Towards a Greener and More Sustainable Approach to Baby Products
Fast consumption and waste generation run rampant in all industries, but it’s particularly true around baby equipment. Tiny humans get big fast, and parents might be nervous to buy used items (“Is that high chair really sanitized?”) and are often too stressed out to think about what to do with the equipment the little tyke has grown out of. Enter Alora Baby, which is trying to shift the narrative toward a greener and more sustainable option for manufacturing — and recycling — baby products. The company is starting with bedside cribs.
A Revolutionary Approach to Baby Equipment
Alora Baby, backed by government grants, aims to introduce revolutionary changes to baby equipment, moving away from the norm that sees products designed for a single lifespan. The team is choosing to bootstrap, pushing to prove the concept before considering larger investment rounds. The goal is to lower business risk and get a clear bead on the company’s long-term viability.
The Landfill Economy and the Need for Change
“We are stuck in this system, which I call the landfill economy, which is basically where stuff just gets crappier: Materials are more expensive, labor is less and less exploitative (thankfully!), but we don’t have the fuel for this machine anymore,” said Angus Whiston, Alora Baby’s founder, in an interview with TechCrunch. “Where does that lead us?
Rethinking the Definition of “New” Products
Whiston thinks that the startup’s approach is not inherently deeply rooted in tech but its simplicity lends itself to a potentially larger and more significant prospect further down the road. When the business machine is finally up and running, he says the focus will shift to the generation of IP — specifically, undertaking research projects that would improve margins, resulting in cheaper production at scale and therefore, cheaper products for consumers.
The biggest change for Alora Baby is almost a philosophical one: What constitutes a “new” product?
“We instinctively know what a product made of recycled material is. If someone said, ‘Hey this cup is made of recycled materials,’ we know that it’s a new product,” Whiston said. “And if someone says ‘refurbished,’ we know what that means — but also that it’s not a ‘new’ product.”
It turns out that there’s no discrete, clear answer for where the crossover point is. If you recycle aluminum, you would re-smelt it and make “new” aluminum. It is recycled, but it is also new. For Alora Baby, the company “remanufactures” the products, and the founder is eager to explain what that means.
“
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
-
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
- Indicator 12.5.1: National recycling rate, tons of material recycled.
-
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
- Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added.
-
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
- Indicator 11.6.1: Proportion of urban solid waste regularly collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste generated, by cities.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. | Indicator 12.5.1: National recycling rate, tons of material recycled. |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes. | Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added. |
| SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. | Indicator 11.6.1: Proportion of urban solid waste regularly collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste generated, by cities. |
Analysis
The issues highlighted in the article are connected to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main SDGs addressed are:
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
The article discusses the need to reduce waste generation and promote recycling and reuse in the baby equipment industry. Alora Baby aims to shift towards a greener and more sustainable option for manufacturing and recycling baby products, starting with bedside cribs. This aligns with Target 12.5 of SDG 12, which focuses on reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. The article also mentions the concept of remanufacturing, which can contribute to sustainable production practices.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
The article highlights Alora Baby’s aim to introduce revolutionary changes to baby equipment manufacturing and move away from the norm of designing products for a single lifespan. This aligns with Target 9.4 of SDG 9, which emphasizes upgrading infrastructure and retrofitting industries to make them sustainable and adopting clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
The article discusses the importance of considering the whole life cycle of a product, including its production, use, and disposal or recycling. Alora Baby aims to overhaul the entire life cycle of baby products, emphasizing the need for consumer behavior change. This aligns with Target 11.6 of SDG 11, which focuses on reducing the adverse environmental impact of cities, including waste management.
The specific targets and indicators identified based on the article’s content are:
Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
This target is relevant to the article as Alora Baby aims to shift towards a more sustainable option for manufacturing and recycling baby products, focusing on reducing waste generation and promoting recycling and reuse.
The indicator mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards this target is Indicator 12.5.1: National recycling rate, tons of material recycled. This indicator can track the amount of material recycled and provide insights into the effectiveness of waste reduction and recycling efforts.
Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
This target is relevant to the article as Alora Baby aims to introduce revolutionary changes to baby equipment manufacturing and move towards sustainable production practices. The focus is on upgrading infrastructure and adopting clean technologies and processes.
The indicator mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards this target is Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added. This indicator can track the carbon emissions associated with the production process and assess the adoption of clean technologies and processes.
Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
This target is relevant to the article as Alora Baby aims to overhaul the entire life cycle of baby products, including waste management. The focus is on reducing the adverse environmental impact of cities through improved waste management practices.
The indicator mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards this target is Indicator 11.6.1: Proportion of urban solid waste regularly collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste generated, by cities. This indicator can assess the effectiveness of waste management systems in cities and measure the proportion of waste that is properly collected and discharged.
Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.
Fuente: uk.news.yahoo.com
Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.
