Why Promote Campaigns for Clean Products and Clean Production?

Abstract

Environmental advocacy in the United States has focused on controlling pollution and waste through a system based on government permits for managing the release of environmental pollutants. The conventional focus on pollution control and waste management has been less than comprehensive. From an ecological perspective it makes little sense to focus on reducing environmental pollution from the waste pipe of industrial facilities while ignoring those same pollutants when inside the plant or sent out the product door. But an ecological perspective is not the same as a political perspective. The focus on pollution and waste has achieved legitimacy; focusing on production appears to invite an invasion of private property, a sensitive issue for most businesses. Discussing the constituents and volume of products treads on issues many think should best be reserved for the market. Focusing on production and products requires technical knowledge and skills not conventionally found in environmental advocacy organizations. Why should environmental or occupational health advocates stretch their conventional domain? Here is an argument for products and production, listing ten reasons for campaigning on clean production and products.