PETAL INTENT
The intent of the Beauty Petal is to recognize the need for beauty to enrich our lives and to honor the impacts of the things we make. As a society, we are often surrounded by ugly and inhumane material things that are manufactured and consumed with little thought to the short- or long-term environmental impacts of their life cycles. If we do not care for the things we use every day, then why should we care about our communities and the natural world?
Beyond an aesthetic aspiration for products, this Petal recognizes the beauty of human connection and the power of the Living Product Challenge as a tool for education and inspiration. It calls upon manufacturers to use their platforms to educate, inspire and engage others. As individual actors, we will always fall short of the radical and rapid change required to create a Living Future. The vast network of companies and individuals required to bring a product to market are all potential collaborators for Handprinting and transformation. Inspiring others to take action and collaborate opens up endless possibilities for infinite positive potential.
IDEAL CONDITIONS + CURRENT LIMITATIONS
The Living Product Challenge envisions product design and packaging that elevates our spirits and inspires us to be better than we currently are. Defining beauty is, by definition, an impossible task. And yet, the level of discussion and, ultimately, the results are elevated by attempting to achieve beauty. In this Petal, the Imperatives are based on genuine efforts, thoughtfully applied. We do not begin to assume we can judge beauty and project our own aesthetic values on others. But we do want to understand manufacturer’s objectives and know that an effort was made to enrich people’s lives with each physical thing we contribute to the world, whatever its size or intended use. This intentionality of good design and graceful execution must carry forth into a program for educating the public about the environmental qualities of each Living Product they create.
At the enterprise level, manufacturers should aim to make positive impacts beyond the scope of certification; they should create ripple effects of positive change by inspiring competitors and consumers alike to engage in the pursuit of regenerative manufacturing. Each Living Product is a tool for learning, an example of what is possible and a beacon of change.
There are no current limitations to this Petal other than our imaginations and what we as a society choose to value.
