The Environmental Impact of the Hobby

Don't you just love it when your thread is merged rather than deleted? -`////´-

About this, I just go "whatever". I try to be environmental-friendly otherwise, so I forgive myself about BJDs.

 

Well, you shouldn't discount the negative impact humans have been having on the enviroment just because you're annoyed at a politician. We shouldn't stop trying to make less pollution and find renewable energy sources just because some people are going about it the wrong way, or because you don't believe in global warming/climate change specifically. And just because there are colder winters in some places doesn't mean climate change is not happening - the polar ice caps are still melting and that's the part we're worried about.

 

I know some companies have started making dolls out of enviromentally friendly resin - Island Doll is the only one I can think of off the top of my head, but I've seen others. Maybe we should make a list of them?

Supporting energy efficient companies and shipping methods is going to do a lot more than just shipping less stuff - there's always going to be goods being shipped places, I don't think dolls are big enough to have as much of an impact as say, food products and such. But saving up your money so you can get a bunch of stuff together in one order instead of ordering everything seperatly would be good, and you'd save on shipping.

 

Hmm.. Here's what I think. I think one must have some fun in life as well since you only live once.. It's super good to think about the enviroment in your daily life, or course, but if it's a hobby you're really passionate with, then I absolutely think it's okay to have things shipped from across the world. You can just spare the enviroment as much as you can in other things.
A lot of people I know use a lot of money monthly to buy clothes over the internet from other destinations of the world and I know I would as well if I'm not saving up for a doll. And the doll only gets sent to me once while buying clothes from time to time would cost more shipping energy, no? Yea, so... if only you remember to think a second time in your daily chores then it's probably okay to sin a little with the ABJDs.

 

Several in this thread have made arguments stating that the impacts of our hobby are so small that they shouldn't be a cause for concern. For instance, it was mentioned that EMS and other carriers use cargo space on passenger airlines-- space that would otherwise go to waste, and that therefore shipping of these dolls does not cause an impact. Actually, adding a doll to the cargo area of the plane does add to the cost of flying the plane. The more passenger and cargo weight, the more fuel is needed.

Others have said that because there are relatively few people in this hobby, its impact is relatively small. (And the same would hold for the incremental fuel cost needed to ship one doll.)

But every individual's actions, when taken separately are small and relatively insignificant. There are 6.78 billion humans on earth, after all. But even if one person's actions are a mere drop in the ocean, our actions together are significant. 30,000 people owning at least one doll is nothing to sneeze at. Making and using those dolls required significant resources and must have generated a significant amount of pollution.

So yes, this hobby does have an environmental impact.

The key is finding ways to mitigate the small impacts our lifestyles create.

For instance, if a new housing development is being built in a marshy area, US law (and I would assume other countries, as well) requires that the builders mitigate by creating new marshland. That way species dependent on the marsh can continue to exist in similar numbers.

In our daily lives we can find ways to mitigate the pollution and energy consumption required to produce and ship these dolls. Maybe it means doing a better job recycling, or buying less in non-doll related areas of our lives. Maybe it means walking instead of driving. Maybe it means buying locally produced goods. I would imagine most DOA members already do many of these things. Mitigating for our dolls just requires a little more.

 

It's pretty easy to get a fair estimation of the environmental cost of shipping Dolls.

So some calculations based on assumptions - Using nice, neat, efficient Metric:

The pick up and delivery van (lets say a modern Mercedes-Benz with 150g/km CO emissions) will drive about 10km while transporting your parcel (5km either end). It will share this journey with 50 other parcels so your parcel alone is responsible for 0.2km of that journey = 30g of CO.

An average BJD enthusiast would probably order 10-15kg of doll stuff a year. A SD doll is perhaps 3kg, shoes around 0.5kg etc. So we will make the average weight of a Parcel 1kg.

A Plane will likely be carrying about 100 tonnes of Cargo or less (100,000kg). The plane will emit about 50kg/km CO. So your parcel is responsible for 0.5g/km CO during the flight.

The average distance that the aircraft will travel from Asia to the Americas is 10,000km, at 0.5g/km CO....oh noes! your parcel just spat 5kg of Carbon Monoxide into the atmosphere flying to you (plus the 30g for the delivery Van.)

That's just a little under what one tree will absorb and store in a year.

Let's guess that there's about 18,500 avg bjd enthusiasts (I could be wayyyyy off on that number) getting two or three packages a month from countries far away - BJD related postage alone would account for like 2500 tonnes of CO emissions globally each year, requiring nearly half a million more trees to be planted.

Airlines usually fill both their cargo holds and passenger lists to capacity, cargo is more profitable than passengers. Passenger flights are frequently cancelled, if you are on an international flights and there are free seats the flight is still running because it's met the cargo quota. So saying the flights would run anyway isn't the reality of the situation.


There's every possibility I made mistakes. >___<

 

Ive never felt guilty about my dolls... usually the only things I ship are the dolls themselves, rarely do I buy accessories and things for them that arent shipped with the doll itself. The material of the doll has never bothered me either because I plan on keeping them forever, the idea of my dollies laying in a landfill is terrifying
Shipping is a different story, but if no one was shipping think of how many jobs would be lost and how much the economy would falter. It would be nice to see companies be more efficient, but for now if I feel content Ill do some gardening, plant a tree, or start using cloth bags at the store and metal water bottles. to me the shipping is a little thing, so if I do other good little things it should balance out right?

 

People still don't understand what "global warming" means! *sigh*
Anybody who actually bothers watching the weather carefully can
tell you that there are significant changes taking place and it's NO
laughing matter. Would you stop liking ABJD's because one person
you have bad feelings about likes them? Doubtful!! So why would
you turn your back on our planet, the only home we have, because
you don't agree with a few politicians? Completely crazy & shameful.

As far as the hobby goes, I try to do my part. Most of my dolls are
pre-orders, which I feel makes a difference. I don't do faceups OR
blushing so I'm not using any sealants etc. and also not disposing
of cans or resin bits/dust or any other materials that would be
disposed of.

I recycle or reuse my dolls packaging, despite just how much space
doing so takes up, & I feel better doing so. I save most outer boxes
& bubble wrap. Please don't throw away your wigs netting, as it can
and has ended up hurting birds who get caught in it. Very very sad.

I think if you closely enough at ANY hobby you'll se an environmental
impact. We should just be more conscious of our purchases/actions.
One idea is to look for Group Orders on DOA, along with buying items
secondhand and perhaps even close enough to simply pick up at a doll
meet etc. I LOVE GO's. It saves on shipping AND packaging. Win win!!

I don't really believe in balancing out our impact though. You would have
to be really conscious of your impact to begin with in order to know what
you can do to make up for it. Unless your only goal is to claim you "try".
The impact is already there, "balancing" it out is only a fix of sorts, far
better to try to prevent some of our impact by making changes now.
Buy green, buy local, use less gas/transportation, cut back your electricity
use, plant trees, recycle, don't purchase items that cannot or will not be
recycled (styrofoam containers, packing peanuts!!! donate to organizations
who plant trees. NO MORE plastic bags. Please.
If anyone really wants to help then the information is there and waiting

 

I actually feel more guilty for joining GOs, because that adds a leg to the journey for my parcel. I don't exactly live close to places with lots of BJD owners . . . possibly any BJD owners, so that extra leg can be pretty substantial. I do go into them if that's the most practical way to get the item (like urethane eye orders). I do keep and recycle as much packaging as I can, and try to order when I've built up several items I want to get from a company. I don't own a car and do what I can in daily life, although of course I can always do better. It does make me wish some products were available on this side of the ocean.

Just to nitpick, "global warming" wasn't dropped because it was proven wrong, it was dropped because people misunderstood it and misused it. The scientists meant the globe warmed slightly, changing the climate; too many people have tried to claim that it's all fake because, hey, it still snows in winter!