With all the talk of recession lately I’ve been thinking about the new green economy that is being developed and what it could mean for the US manufacturing industry. There has been the lingering fear of manufacturing jobs eventually disappearing from US soil as they are slowly off-shored to cheaper labor markets. Sustainability dictates that the trend will reverse.
Sustainability principles put more weight on carbon than on price; regionally procured products are even one of the points available for LEED certified projects. As the market for green products grows, there will necessarily be a corresponding growth in regionally operated factories. There is a premium inside of sustainability for products produced and warehoused within 500 miles of the purchasing location. This also would mean a reemergence for the local mom & pop brick and mortar stores.
Whenever things seem to be going one way, there is usually a light at the end of the tunnel. In the short term sustainable practices offers higher prices and new ways of doing things. Long-term there is a potential for a rebirth of the good old days.