Summer is coming soon and we have to come up with holiday planning! Sightseeing in London for a weekend, enjoying the sun on short holidays in Mallorca or should it rather be Sydney with the family for two weeks? But wait – are there perhaps more sustainable options?

Nearby or far away – active or relaxed – beach, mountains or party mile, nowadays our range of options is almost endless. We can fly within a very short time from one side of the globe to the other; low-cost airlines make that more and more affordable. Great, right?

Unfortunately tourism and unlimited mobility have also their dark sides. Emissions, environmental pollution, poverty and resource conflicts – air traffic is responsible for up to 10% of climate change. Unspoilt alpine landscapes vanish in consequence of mass tourism; cruise ships release vast amounts of harmful substances into the oceans. But how can we do better? How is conscious, environmentally friendly travel possible? In the following passages you will find crucial tips, the basics of sustainable travel so to say!

Stay on the ground

Most emissions arise on the outward and return journeys. As soon as you stay on the ground with your means of transport, the greenhouse-gas emissions decrease to ¼ compared to flying. Obviously, the longer the distance, the more difficult it gets not to fly; but nearby destinations within Europe usually can be reached easily by car, or even better by bus or train. However, there is one exception: cruise ships – even though they do not fly, their impact on the environment is enormous.

After your arrival, public transport and bicycle should be your first choice as well. By travelling with public transport you will also get to know the country and the everyday life of locals much better.

“Why seek far afield when the good is close by?” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Mountains, forests, lakes, sea, castles, palaces and gorgeous old towns – Germany and Europe have so much more to offer than most of us think. Too often, we know the country we live in and the neighbouring countries much less than far off travel destinations. There is something going wrong, isn’t it? How about outdoor holidays in Thuringia? Hiking and mountain biking in beautiful forests, swimming in lakes surrounded by mountains and a visit of the magical dripstone cave in Saalfeld. The Elbe Sandstone Mountain, which is one of Germany´s most beautiful natural wonders, also receives too little consideration. More ideas on underestimated travel destinations within Germany you can find here.

If, nevertheless, you decide to travel to a destination further away, distance and travel duration should fit together. Flying to another continent should be worth it. The trip to the States can by all means last some weeks or months so that you can fully enjoy it.

Respect nature

While considering which activities to choose, options should be critically examined. Are fun sports in fragile landscapes really necessary? Is the activity reasonable for this climate and landscape? Does the activity fit with the culture of that particular country? Playing golf in the desert and jet skiing through mangrove forests is not a good idea for sure.

That you should not leave waste in the landscape as a tourist (just like at home) goes without saying. If you want to go a step further, buy a water filter for camping. In many countries you cannot drink tab water like in Germany; that is why a water filter is a solution not to rely on buying plastic bottles.

Water is scarce?

As a tourist you might easily enter into resource conflicts with locals. Where resources are rare already, locals can suffer due to the consumption of, for example, fresh water by the powerful tourist industry. Taking long showers and having your towels and linen washed every day are not appropriate then. When it comes to housing, the interests of tourists and locals might be contradictory as well. By renting holiday apartments through online platforms, landlords can potentially earn more money than by renting them permanently, which in some areas has led to former tenants being driven away and affordable housing becoming scarce. But not everything is negative – tourism can bring advantages for the host country as well. It can be an important source of income if we actively counteract the disadvantages of tourism. So how can we manage to visit a country in a way that makes the locals benefit and at the same time allows us to have an amazing holiday with great experiences?

Local offers instead of all-inclusive

Booking the whole trip in an all-round carefree package is easy, but often boring and the ones who benefit from it are usually large providers instead of locals. To simplify the decision for the conscious traveler, attempts are made to label accommodations and offers as ecological and fair. So rather than choosing the next best hotel chain, try to find private hotels and hostels, which have these labels. Often you can find much more country-specific aspects in small accommodations and it may happen that you get insider tips from the owners about where to have dinner. Apropos Dinner: Try country- or region-specific food and enjoy eating regional food in small local restaurants.

However, exceptions confirm the rule. Not everything that is traditional can be recommended and helps the locals and the environment. For example, you should not enjoy your holidays on the back of elephants. If you would like to discover more about these fascinating animals, you can spend time with them in a nature conservation center.

You would like to know more?

Phew… these were quite a lot of aspects to consider. The good news is that a critical view at the existing offers can already help. If you are still not fed up and would like to increase your knowledge in some points, check out fairunterwegs.org. The platform brings light into the jungle of providers and information.

If you are particularly interested into the topic of mobility and would like to use more sustainable transportation in your everyday life and in your holidays, have a look at the booklet „Nachhaltig bewegen und reisen“ of the Baden-Württemberg sustainability strategy. You can download it here for free (it is only available in German).

If you feel like discovering your hometown first, we can recommend stattreisen to you. You can also find a group in Karlsruhe with diverse offers.

Wherever your next journey will go to – we wish you a lot of fun and great experiences!

It has almost been three years since the real world lab project Urban Transition Lab 131 was launched under the umbrella of the framework project District Future – Urban Lab. Under the promotional initiative BaWÜ-Labs of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Science, Research and Culture and with the aim to prove new models for the cooperation between science and society, the Urban Translation Lab 131 started its journey towards a (more) sustainable urban development.

An article by Vanessa Kügler. Translation by Sophie Dauenhauer

The next four articles on our Blog will focus on the experiences of the Urban Transition Lab 131- topics:

Sustainable consumption – Mobility – Social Affairs and Space – Energy

These topics are based on the wishes of the citizens who took part at the citizens’ forum “Sustainable Oststadt – Future made by citizens” of the District Future and at the same time form the central elements of the research that is done by the Urban Transition Lab 131. Thereby the real world lab is inseparably interwoven with the ones who are directly affected: the citizens.

Part I: Consuming in a sustainable matter is possible – even in the city. The Oststadt shows how it works!

Our blog series starts with the topic “Sustainable Consumption”. Relating to it, what has happened in the Oststadt? What are (more) sustainable forms of consumption and how can these be integrated in the urban quarter and the everyday life of the citizens?

“Consumption has an effect – on the world we are part of, the world that surrounds us, the world to come, and ourselves. We want to contribute to a conscious, sustainable, and regional consumption and revive cultural skills like barter and repair.”

(Goal of the key topic Sustainable Consumption)

Consumption is a topic that has accompanied the District Future for a while, even before the Urban Transition Lab 131 was about to start. The initiation of the Repair Café in 2013 was the start of activities that questioned the throwaway culture and presented a counter model. In the meantime, the RepairCafé Karlsruhe has become an independent association. We are very happy about this development and proud about our role as a driving force!

Furthermore, evening events were organized and gave the opportunity to discuss about special topics like for example local food in the city.

These consumption-critical events were integrated in the Urban Transition Lab 131-project “Sustainable Consumption”. Since 2016 further practical components were added – with the aim to jointly test alternative forms of consumption in the Oststadt.

KonsumCafé: where acting differently is fun – the SustainabilityExperiments are also taking part

To provide a framework for those activities of the Urban Transition Lab that concentrate on sustainable consumption, we initiated the format “KonsumCafé” (Consumption Café). Regular events of this format are the swap party for clothes (“Kleidertauschparty”) and the “Pflanzentauschbörse” where people have the opportunity to swap plants and seeds. These events are already fixed components of the life in the quarter. There are also single activities like lectures and workshops (e.g. Ökodorf meets District Future or the District Future- regulars’ table with the topic Consumption at Christmas) have become established features. With these events we want to show that acting and consuming sustainably is fun and gives motivation.

During the events of the KonsumCafé the visitors also get background information on textile industry, conditions of production in the clothing industry or seed sovereignty. KonsumCafé-events give the opportunity to share ideas about how everyone can change something.

Two “SustainabilityExperiments” are directly or indirectly dealing with the topic consumption: The secondhand-label “Second Future” and the urban gardening-experiment “Beete und Bienen” (Beds and Bees). A nice effect: Events of the KonsumCafé and the SustainabilityExperiments got together to achieve common goals. The best example therefor is the cooperation between the swap party for clothes and “Second Future” – a wonderful addition, as we think!

The different event- and participation-formats are therefore essential components and platforms for knowledge exchange and new forms of collaboration.

Knowledge is power- and helps along!

The join-in offers are only one part of the Urban Transition Lab 131- activities: another important element is communication and information about the project’s main topics. The medium we use for this is our blog, on which we regularly write about topics concerning consumption and alternatives. Our website is an important tool to provide knowledge about sustainable consumption patterns in the quarter and beyond. We have already published several articles about these topics.

These are among other things:

• Society`s immense usage of plastic and possible countermovements like he initiative Refill,
• The role of the community and the individual with regard to our consumer behaviour,
• Sustainable models for the handling of (old) clothes,
• The potentials of local production methods – using the example of the “Oststadt-Bier” (Oststadt Beer),
• The utility of so-called “Sustainability-Apps” as a shopping advisor on the smartphone.

Are you curious? Click here to get to the overview of the published articles (in German).

A real world lab – why is that?

Within the Urban Transition Lab 131 various approaches and ideas for a (more) sustainable way of life in the city emerged. Some have been implemented and are now partly carried out by the citizens themselves.

For the experiments, the topic sustainable consumption is very tangible, because it appears and confronts us in our everyday life. It is especially suitable for taking a closer look, questioning structures and habits and to try out new things.

An example for a sustainable approach that is trendy right now is “sharing and swapping instead of possessing and throwing away”. A return to neighbourly self-help and learning from each other are an attractive counter model to the increasing anonymity in the city. Increasing awareness for sustainable consumption pattern becomes apparent. This is reflected, for example, in the increasing number of alternative living and supply concepts which are based on sharing-approaches.

The real world lab has become established as space for experience and exchange. Especially the “Zukunftsraum” (Future Space) serves as a place where these topics are collectively discussed and where corresponding action alternatives get discovered. Such an exchange helps to develop a stronger awareness about one’s own consumer behaviour and related consumption patterns that were “learnt” from society. An incentive to start thinking outside the box and to do this is an exploratory way, without a lot of planning and with an eye to the quarter and the people living in it.

The project duration of the Urban Transition Lab 131 ended with the end of 2017, but we already know: The Future Space and District Future continue to exist!

So we are open for new ideas about the topic consumption and also in 2018 we are searching for people who want to get active. The KonsumCafé will still be one main emphasis of our work and it will start concentrating on the topic climate protection.

If you have any questions or ideas for your own project on the topic sustainable consumption, visit us at the Future Space or send us a message to: info@quartierzukunft.de

From now on the Future Space for sustainability and science (Zukunftsraum) in Karlsruhe – Oststadt is an official “Refill” station and part of the German “Refill” movement. With the slogan “Avoid plastic waste / Drink tap water / Refill your water bottle”, the campaign draws attention to our society’s vast use of plastic and the  environmental pollution resulting from it. Moreover, the initiative wants to show that environmentally friendly alternatives do exist. The solution is simple: waste prevention.

Some shops, pharmacies, cafes or offices already participate. And now also the “Future Space” supports this new label: A small sticker at doors or windows indicates that thirsty passers-by can refill their water bottles with tap water for free. Refilling instead of buying bottled water is the simple and yet effective approach to reduce plastic waste. But why?

The problem of producing plastic waste

In (too) many cases plastic waste is not properly disposed of but released into the environment endangering our nature. It is a vicious circle: First it is dropped in the streets, later the wind blows it into rivers, from where it easily gets into the sea. The environmental pollution reached a new all-time high. In 2015, plastic consumption in Western European countries amounted to 136 kg per head, while in 1980 it was only 40 kilograms (see Statista). The German environmental organisation “Deutsche Umwelthilfe” states that the number of plastic bottles sold in Germany each day (!) amounts to 46 million. In many – for example Asian – countries, infrastructures for waste recycling are still missing. As a result, a large number of plastic waste ends up in the ocean – which causes numerous negative effects. We all know about dramatic pictures of garbage paths in the sea, rubbish-strewn beaches and birds that are perishing, because of mistaking plastic particles for food.
Microorganisms are not able to degrade plastics completely. The particles become smaller, but never decompose: The remnants are called microplastic. According to the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), one plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose. Just to let you know: Banana peels and paper bags only need approximately six weeks for the same process…

Plastic waste is everywhere – and harmful for humans and the environment

The visible amount of waste represents a very small part of the refuse problem only. The microplastics settle in the ecosystems – for example in sediments. In this way, they also reach the deep sea – which is inaccessible to humans. Sea animals such as seashells or plankton consume the microplastics via food and accumulate the particles in their muscles and organs. Through the food chain, the plastic enters the human body. However, its impacts on the health of humans and animals are not fully known yet.
Moreover, plastic particles are often extremely small and light causing them to be scattered widely in the ocean. Melanie Bergman, biologist and scientist in the field of deep sea research at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Marine and Polar Research, recently called the deep sea a final repository for plastics. According to her, all parts of the sea are already affected by this problem. Large amounts of plastic can be found in the deep sea, the Antarctic, the Arctic and on remote islands. This was currently confirmed by a team of researchers – led by the British Polar Researcher Pen Hadow – which returned from its exhibition to the Arctic. Bergmann estimates the amount of plastic which can be found in the deep sea as a hundred to a thousand times higher than the amount that is visible on the water surface.
The German organisation for environment and nature conservation (BUND) has also pointed out that some of the harmful additives, like plasticizers, stabilizers or flame retardants are not permanently bound to the plastics and can be gradually released into the environment and the human body.

Plastic fasting – Let’s start with the water bottle!

So what are we supposed to do? The “Refill” campaign promotes a (more) plastic-free lifestyle and starts at an essential point: drinking water – our most important daily product. In Germany, tap water is equal to drinking water. So, basically you can get water everywhere, right out of the tap. Why do we need plastic bottles then? You can easily contribute to the reduction of plastic waste every day – just by giving up buying water in plastic bottles and saying yes to the tap. Precycling is a trend. In this spirit: come and try some tap water in the Future Space – the door is wide open for anyone who is thirsty!

Further Links

Refill Germany

BUND – Tips to avoid plastic waste is everyday life

nachhaltig-sein.de – Avoiding plastic: 30 tips for everyday

BUND – Shopping guide microplastics

Each person living in Europe owns an average of 10 000 items – a figure set to increase. Antje Di Foglio of the District Future team is product designer and has been exploring the aging of things for years. She has a sustainable vision: Let us turn back into users of our products.

During his first week in kindergarten without his mom, little Jonas takes his cuddly toy with him. Grandpa Karl flatly refuses to trash the old, tatty carpet in the hallway. The things and we – there is definitely something between us, some sort of relationship, a connection, some flying sparks.

If we and our things have a common history: The owner of this polar bear is 25 years old. Picture: Antje Di Foglio.

In fact the things that surround us are more than mere objects of utility. The wardrobe in the bedroom, my jeans, the walls in my parents’ house, the little wall in the garden: Our things are points of identity and key elements in our world and help us to position ourselves. Who am I and where am I at the moment? We can express ourselves with their help and have something to hold on to. But what do we do if the number of things in our life is ever increasing? And we replace, substitute, and dump them more and more rapidly to buy new ones? What does this do to us and our world?

In fact the things that surround us are more than mere objects of utility. The wardrobe in the bedroom, my jeans, the walls in my parents’ house, the little wall in the garden: Our things are points of identity and key elements in our world and help us to position ourselves. Who am I and where am I at the moment? We can express ourselves with their help and have something to hold on to. But what do we do if the number of things in our life is ever increasing? And we replace, substitute, and dump them more and more rapidly to buy new ones? What does this do to us and our world?

Things are manufactured to be consumed

“Today, things are manufactured to be consumed”, states Antje, who studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. While traditional materials like wood, metal, china, leather, and linen age with dignity and can outlive generations, most of the materials used today would only become shabby and damaged over the years. Shirts made of polyacrylics, sideboards made of pressboard, the sofa made of faux leather: “These materials do not age. They fall apart.”

This is, according to Antje, not only due to an economic system which relies on “planned obsolescence”, i.e. the built-in defects of products. It is also a Western concept of esthetics which we have all taken in by now. “This is the Hellenistic view of the world in whose tradition we are rooted and are familiar with”, she explains. “Everything is about perfection and youth! Today, products should be beautiful, shiny, immaculate. It is about personal optimization by ‘doing more’ and ‘buying more’.” Beautiful means new. And what is not new can go.

Wabi-sabi instead of everything new

In Japan, Antje discovered an alternative way of seeing things, a theory of esthetics, a philosophy: It is called “wabi-sabi” and includes the aging, the imperfect, incomplete and ephemeral, discovers the beauty within. A wooden flooring with deep scratches due to decades of use by a family. A jacket which was elaborately, but still obviously mended. A broken china plate, which was put together using liquid gold.

Impermanence in gold: the Japanese technique of Kintsugi. Picture: Wikipedia

“Wabi-sabi is about honesty and authenticity”, says Antje. Things are allowed to tell their story. They can show that they are in use, being needed, and live together with their people.

“The poor elves of Yiwu”

Fact is: During the last century we have lost our connection to things by distinguishing between manufacture and consumption of products, between craftspeople, workers, and buyers. A global phenomenon, which turned low-wage countries into the Western world’s textile factory and workbench. One example are the Christmas villages in the Chinese city of Yiwu which gained a weird sort of fame. Two-thirds of all Christmas decorations are manufactured there. Without even knowing what they actually produce, the migrant workers there work by the piece for a pittance; the German newspaper FAZ once called them the “poor elves of Yiwu”. And published pictures of the Chinese photographer Chen Ronghui who shot a father and his son at work – standing in red paint and chemicals, their heads only poorly protected by Santa hats.

Almost all Santa hats like this one are produced in the Chinese city of Yiwu.

Is Yiwu everywhere? Probably it can be seen as a symbol for our unrelatedness to our things. And this venomed, Far Eastern Christmas idyll quite plainly shows the impacts of this disconnection: People and the environment are being exploited for products which did not come to stay. Year after year they end up on the scrapheap. Year after year we buy them anew.

From consumers to users?

But: What can the consumers do? And which potential for change is implied in the self-understanding of the manufacturers? Anyhow, for Antje both sides are responsible – and she believes that change is possible. “We, the designers, act in a complex and ramified area of conflict and bear a huge social and moral responsibility from which we should not escape, are not allowed to escape. We designers work for the people and on relationships, our esthetic order of things keeps them grounded in a chaotic world. Products have to become more sustainable, more ecological, and more humane. There must not be design just for the sake of design.” What would happen if we would treat the things with respect again, honor and respect the work and care of the manufacturers? If we surround ourselves with things that are allowed to age and live with us – wouldn’t we realize that we do not need so many new things?

“‘Which are the things I like to live with? Which are the things I am related with?’ we could ask ourselves”, says Antje. “If we shop like this, we are also more likely to consume things which are more appreciated and loved and with which we want to live for a long time.” More and more consumers are, according to Antje, looking for the real, the true, for authenticity and meaning. “We are running short of resources, in a few decades the oilfields will be drained. A new understanding of the consumer will emerge. Maybe we could put it like this: We have to move on from consumers to users of our things.”“

Antje Di Foglio studied product design at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. Her thesis “Spuren der Zeit” (The marks of time) dealt with the relationships and emotions into which people enter with their products – and their meaning for culture and society. A bound copy of her work is on display in the Future Space – come and have a look!
As a member of District Future, Antje wants to show the people and citizens how small steps can actively make a change for ourselves and others and change our consumer behavior. Because we are sure: Buying has an effect – on the world we are part of, the world that surrounds us, the world to come, and ourselves. In the new year, we want to contribute to a conscious, sustainable, and more regional consumption and revive cultural skills like barter and repair. Together with you we would like to think about the way sustainable consumption could look like in Karlsruhe’s Oststadt. We will keep you informed on our website, Facebook & Twitter!