You care about environmental issues and wonder if manufacturing can really be sustainable. How can companies continue to make more products while also reducing environmental impact?

You may be worried about:

  • The environmental footprint of your employer or their industry

  • Greenwashing that makes it sound like companies are doing the right thing while questionable business decisions are made behind the scenes

  • Toxic substances from manufacturing contaminating the air, water, and soil in your community

You want to learn more about:

  • What materials go into the products you buy and where they come from

  • What innovative companies are doing to reduce their environmental impact

  • How you can help your community or company reconsider resource use

Material Value will give you answers and hope.

Discover:

  • How metals and plastics are made and what happens when they are recycled

  • The challenges that manufacturers face when trying to make their facilities and products less toxic and less wasteful

  • How manufacturers can extract the value of materials while doing less damage to human health and the environment

  • How smart companies are embracing the triple bottom line—profit, people, planet—to make manufacturing safer and more efficient

  • Why some big corporations painted as evildoers deserve a second look

Get the inside scoop from:

  • A business owner recycling scrap from airplane manufacturing

  • A former geologist running a chain of donut shops

  • Two entrepreneurs committed to improving e-waste processing

  • An executive promoting social and environmental responsibility at a major electronics company

  • A chemist developing safer cleaning products

Knowledge is power. When you are done reading this book, you will gain a new perspective on the role of materials in addressing the environmental impact of manufacturing. You will want to share this knowledge so that more well-meaning people can make changes at their workplaces and in their communities.

Satisfy your thirst for knowledge. Read Material Value to discover the true value of materials and how our society can use them more wisely.

Praise for Material Value

"Meticulous editing and a succinct style... Exemplary for its balanced and reasonable viewpoint, the text deserves to be classified as a reference tool for countless professionals." —Publishers Weekly, BookLife Prize

“This book is an antidote to a world too dominated by extreme opinions: it is a detailed, balanced, and fascinating account of how we can make the modern material world more sustainable. I particularly like the use of case studies that unravel the complexities and trade-offs needed to understand even seemingly obvious materials choices.” —Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters and Liquid

“Julia Goldstein has written a comprehensive, comprehensible guide to the impact of everyday materials like plastics and metals. If you want to take informed actions to support a better world, read this book.” —Anne Janzer, author of Writing to Be Understood

“The clear explanations of the benefits and costs of so many types of modern materials, along with their current disposal methods, are valuable to anyone interested in moving our society toward a zero-waste future.” —Jill Lightner, author of Scraps, Peels, and Stems

“The writing style is easy to read, even for a non-technical, non-science, liberal arts major like me! It flows well, and the interviews help to support the key content points. I really enjoyed the book and learned quite a lot.” —Steven Howard, author of Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Saga

“In this compelling and informative book, you will learn about everything from chemicals and plastics to manufacturing and recycling, as well as what you can do as both a consumer and citizen to make for a more sustainable material world, all explained in a simple, clear, engaging style.” —David Biello, author of The Unnatural World

“While the volume maintains an upbeat perspective, Goldstein acknowledges the challenges of bringing sustainability to the manufacturing process and offers a candid evaluation of the effectiveness of each technology discussed. Readers will be left with the sense that although sustainability is not an easy feature to add to the manufacturing process, it is indeed possible to do so with both ecological and financial benefits. An engrossing, comprehensive overview of sustainable manufacturing and recycling and the challenges to expanding their adoption.” —Kirkus Reviews

Libraries Carrying Material Value

Follow the links to reserve your copy. Don't see your local library listed below? They can order it. Ask your librarian or request the book from your library's website. The libraries listed below may carry the print edition, the eBook edition, or both. If your preferred format isn't available, feel free to request it.

Are you a librarian interested in purchasing? Both books are available through Ingram and Overdrive. I invite you to read the Kirkus Reviews of Material Value before deciding. Does your library carry one of the books but isn't included on the list? Please contact me and I'll add it.