Dematerialization (economics)

[1] The term itself possesses multi-accentuality[definition needed], which allows it to be diversely explained by different fields of social science, such as Mainstream economics, which puts focus on the aspects of technological evolution and market demand shifts, and Ecological economics, which emphasizes the effect of dematerialization on the natural environment.

[3] In 1972, the Club of Rome in its report The Limits to Growth predicted a steadily increasing demand for material as both economies and populations grew.

Copper wire has been replaced with fiber-optics, vinyl records with MP3 players while cars, refrigerators and numerous other items have gotten lighter.

In the late 18th century, the Industrial Revolution can be seen as the peak of human raw material consumption due to capitalism's expansion.

Renewable items will lose their price competitiveness in the market if their reproduction rate cannot exceed that of non-renewable products.

In Europe, Latin America, and East Asia, similar losses in acreage have been observed, accompanied by huge gains in productivity.

By using reinforced concrete, steel framing, and stronger and lighter glass, the consumption of cement, stone, sand, and gravel in construction has been minimized.

The international extraction of six minerals (bauxite, the platinum group, magnesium, cobalt, molybdenum and nickel) and the production of cement grew faster than GDP from 1960 to 2019.

Although GDP growth and technological advancement maintains a decent rate, the market demand of non-renewable materials didn’t fall.

[12] A reason why we are not seeing a global dematerialization but a regional one is because advanced economies outsourced the production of material-intensive goods to the developing countries.

At the same time, relative dematerialization will continue, allowing societies to derive more value and enjoy higher living standards with decreasing steel inputs.

The vast majority of research appears to suggest that any potential for the world to become greener and cleaner through dematerialization is conditional on our ability to make this practise universal.