Total Product Life Cycle

Total Product Life Cycle Discussion

The concept of “total product life cycle” or “cradle to grave” examines ALL the many steps involved in making/manufacturing and distributing any product. This is an important concept and until recently was not really recognized. This is one reason the “Buy Local” concept has started because people are starting to realize that for some products, the life cycle is absurd! Take socks for example.

Cotton is grown which takes lots of water, fertilizer and pesticides (cotton has tons of pests). The fertilizers can cause eutrophication of lakes and streams and the pesticides can cause immeasurable problems to the farm workers and others living nearby. The cotton is harvested and transported to a cotton gin where it is dried and packed into bales using lots of energy. This also takes a semitruck which expells exhaust into the atmosphere. The gin sells the cotton to a mill where it is woven into yarn and dyed. It may even be shipped all the way to China, causing immeasurable pollution all the way there. All of the dyes are very toxic and this exposes workers to toxins. Wastes from the dyes are very hazardous wastes and are taken to a landfill where they remain for many years. Yarn is woven by machine into socks. If in other countries, this may be done by children or in factories where work conditions are horrific. Socks are then packaged in plastic bags which produces more toxic wastes and loaded onto semis and planes for distribution around the world. The socks are flown back to the United States and transported yet again by semi to various Walmarts across the nation. How much fossil fuels have been used to produce these socks at this point!?! You buy the socks for $5 a pack and throw the packaging in the trash without another thought. The package goes to the landfill, does not break down for thousands of years, long after the socks have also been thrown away……. You get the point. Now don’t you look at socks differently? Isn’t that all sort of ridiculous all to produce something you don’t even really think about?

Your assignment is to research ANYTHING you want and tell the “total product life cycle” or “cradle to grave” story of that product. This WILL require you to do some research. The key to getting full points on this is to be extremely specific at every stage and to identify all potential sources of pollution all along the way. You must cite your sources in text and have a references page at the end. You need a minimum of 6 references.

This can really help your grade if you do a good job on it. This must be at least 4 pages, double spaced, 1″margins, 12 point Times New Roman. It is worth 100 points.