OK, I was really in sort of a quandary about whether to even post about this here, but I am in a little turmoil about this post on Treehugger. OK, listen. I love Treehugger. LOVE. I look up to the folks over there. They are my green blogging idols, and that makes this even more troublesome to me.

The meat of the post talks about a new service called Photomake, where you can upload designs or photos and have them reproduced for you…in plastic. Not recycled plastic. Not salvaged plastic. Not even plastic made from corn. They’re talking about realizing your design using new plastic. I was a little bit confused about that and commented with a few questions. They were kind enough to approve my comment and include a reply from the author. Here is the reply:

Thanks for your comment. Ponoko offers a handful of materials too numerous to list here. The real green thrust of their model is bigger than just materials; it’s about de-centralizing and localizing the design and manufacturing process (they’re based in san francisco) — rather than having your objects designed in the U.S., the materials sourced in Europe, manufactured in China and shipped back, everything can take place stateside. Plus, with the mass customization element, you get to decide exactly what you want — rather than having a store manager decide for you — and that increases the likelihood that you’ll find the object really functional, and will use it and keep it for a long time. You like stuff better when you have exactly what you want, right?

Thanks again for your comment!

I do appreciate him addressing my concern and that he didn’t take a defensive tone. Still, I don’t really think that’s a satisfactory answer. I totally agree that sourcing materials from all over and shipping finished goods across the globe is not a green business practice, but, to quote Lori, “I mean, I get what he’s saying, but couldn’t they have taken it to the next level? How hard would it be to have it made out of #5 recycled plastic, or something like that?”

It was also a little worrisome to see that head Treehugger Graham Hill is on their Board of Advisors. I’m not even really sure what to say about this, but it makes me suspicious.

What do you guys think? Am I being oversensitive? This just doesn’t strike me as a green business at all, despite the assurances from the author about their practices.