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Is the Maker Movement Contributing to Sustainability? sustainability Article Is the Maker Movement Contributing to Sustainability? Jeremy Millard 1,*, Marie N. Sorivelle 2, Sarah Deljanin 1, Elisabeth Unterfrauner 3 and Christian Voigt 3 1 International Center, Danish Technological Institute, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; [email protected] 2 Ideas and Innovation, Danish Technological Institute, DK-2630 Taastrup Copenhagen, Denmark; [email protected] 3 Centre for Social Innovation, A-1150 Vienna, Austria; [email protected] (E.U.); [email protected] (C.V.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +45-7220-1417 Received: 31 May 2018; Accepted: 26 June 2018; Published: 28 June 2018 Abstract: ICT has already revolutionized content creation and communications. In principle, today, everybody with Internet access, the right skills and equipment can produce digital content composed of virtual “bits” and make it instantly available across the globe. The same is now happening to manufacturing for everyone with access to tools like 3D printers. This inter-changeability of bits and atoms is being called the maker movement, which started as a community-based, socially-driven bottom-up movement but is today also impacting mainstream manufacturing through increased efficiencies, distributed local production and the circular economy. The maker movement thus has significant promise for increasing social, economic and environmental sustainability, but is it currently living up to this potential? This paper reports on work undertaken by the European-funded MAKE-IT project has examined this question through detailed qualitative and quantitative empirical research, including ten in-depth case studies across Europe and a detailed examination of 42 maker initiatives at Europe’s foremost city-based maker faire, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Despite the maker movement’s short history, the overall results provide sound evidence of its important though variable contribution to sustainability thus far. In addition, there is a strong gender dimension showing that females are underrepresented both as users and leaders of maker initiatives, whilst female leaders tend to achieve much higher sustainability impacts than their male counterparts. There is also clear evidence that maker initiatives in close collaboration with each other and other actors in city- and region-wide ecosystems are much more successful in achieving sustainability impacts than others. Keywords: maker movement; digital fabrication; social sustainability; environmental sustainability; economic sustainability; gender; scale; quantitative analysis; qualitative analysis; case studies 1. Introduction This objective of this paper is to examine the question of whether the maker movement is living up to its purported potential to contribute to increasing social, economic and environmental sustainability. 1.1. The Context The maker movement is a rapidly expanding field with innumerable perspectives, interpretations and definitions. It is part of a major transformation in manufacturing towards distributed digital fabrication that potentially marks a decisive shift away from a society reliant on by mass production Sustainability 2018, 10, 2212; doi:10.3390/su10072212 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 29 1.1. The Context The maker movement is a rapidly expanding field with innumerable perspectives, interpretations and definitions. It is part of a major transformation in manufacturing towards distributed digital fabrication that potentially marks a decisive shift away from a society reliant on Sustainability 2018, 10, 2212 2 of 29 by mass production and consumption towards a society also characterized by ‘mass customization’. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has already revolutionized content creation and communicationsand consumption and towards has now a society become also the characterized general purpose by “mass technology customization”. underpinning Information all other and technologies.Communication In principle, Technology today, (ICT) everybody has already with revolutionized Internet access, content the right creation skills and and communications equipment can produceand has nowdigital become content the composed general purpose of virtual technology ‘bits’ and underpinning make it instantly all other available technologies. acrossIn the principle globe. , Thetoday, same everybody is now happening with Internet to the access, fabrication the right of skillsphysical and objects equipment for everyone can produce with access digital to content tools likecomposed 3D printers. of virtual This “bits”inter-changeability and make it of instantly bits and available atoms is acrossbeing thecalled globe. the maker The same movement, is now whichhappening started to theas fabricationa community of- physicalbased, socially objects-driven for everyone bottom with-up accessmovement to tools but like is 3Dtoday printers. also impactingThis inter-changeability mainstream manufacturing of bits and atoms through is being increased called efficiencies, the maker movement, distributed which local production started as a andcommunity-based, the circular economy. socially-driven bottom-up movement but is today also impacting mainstream manufacturingIn principle, through digital fabrication increased efficiencies, allows every distributed organizatio localn and production every individual and the circularto customize economy. the productsIn principle, and services digital they fabrication consume. allows It is claimed every organization that this new and business every individualmodel cuts to waste customize and enablesthe products manufacturers and services to restructure they consume. supply Itchains is claimed and completely that this newreorganize business their model businesses cuts waste and operationsand enables [1 manufacturers–4]. Localised to bespoke restructure production supply chains becomes and completely possible reorganizeattuned to their specific businesses user requirements,and operations in a [1 step–4]. away Localised from consumerism bespoke production and towards becomes ‘pro- possiblesumerism’, attuned thereby to also specific reducing user environmentalrequirements, inimpacts a step awaybecause from products consumerism can be and produced towards close “pro-sumerism”, to where they thereby are needed also reducing using larenvironmentalgely re-cycled impacts local becausewaste materials products as can feedstock. be produced Unusually close to wherefor a theymanufacturing are needed usinginnovation, largely momentumre-cycled local started waste at materialsthe bottom, as feedstock.pioneered Unusuallyby non-profit for amakers manufacturing who hack innovation, products and momentum designs instarted addition at the to software. bottom, pioneered This also byhas non-profit significant makers social impacts who hack such products as spawning and designs new skills in addition and jobs to andsoftware. supportingThis also communityhas significant cohesion social and impacts promoting such as spawninggreater personal new skills satisfaction, and jobs and for supporting example throughcommunity the cohesionFab Lab and network promoting (https://www.fablabs.io/labs/map) greater personal satisfaction, for. This example blurs through the relationships the Fab Lab betweennetwork producer, (https://www.fablabs.io/labs/map supplier and consumer, and). This also blurs has profound the relationships implications between for producer, supply chains supplier as welland consumer,as for the organization and also has and profound content implications of work, which for supply will in chains turn ashave well impacts as for theon organizationgovernance, regulation,and content education of work, whichand social will insecurity. turn have It isimpacts also claimed on governance, that the movement regulation, reflects education cultural and shif socialts enablingsecurity. people It is also to claimed ‘reconnect that hand the movement with brain’ reflects and to cultural ‘get their shifts hands enabling dirty people again’ to [5], “reconnect thereby providinghand with sustainability brain” and to benefits “get their across hands the dirty social, again” environmental [5], thereby and providing economic sustainability spectrums. benefits across the social, environmental and economic spectrums. 1.2. Defining the Maker Movement 1.2. Defining the Maker Movement The maker movement is a rapidly expanding field with innumerable perspectives, interpretationsThe maker and movement definitions. is a rapidly In the expanding specific context field with of innumerablethe MAKE-IT perspectives, project (2016 interpretations–2017), the definitionand definitions. of the In maker the specific movement context focuses of the MAKE-ITon the overlapproject (2016–2017),between four the main definition fields of of the activity maker (Figuremovement 1). focuses on the overlap between four main fields of activity (Figure1). Figure 1. The four components of the maker movement. 1.2.1. Digital Fabrication Digital fabrication provides the technological underpinning of the Maker movement. Digital modeling and fabrication is a process that unifies design with production through the use of 3D Sustainability 2018, 10, 2212 3 of 29 modeling software or computer-aided design (CAD) and additive and subtractive manufacturing processes. 3D printing is a type of additive fabrication, whilst machining is a type of subtractive fabrication. The initial focus on simple 3D printers has now progressed to an awareness
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