notebookon PHOTOGRAPHY sustainable choices IMPACT AND CHOICES — PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET

The INDEPENDENT AIR EDITORIAL TEAM www.theindependentair.com Artistic Director MAYA BYSCOV Environmental SustainabilityDirector Co-founder and LINE THASTUM Co-founder andDirector SISSEL THASTUM INDEPENDENT AIR THE

SISSEL THASTUM MICHELE PALAZZI CLEMENT VERGER BARBEL PRAUN ANA CATARINA PINHO RESIDENCY ARTISTS ESTHER TEICHMANN ADAM JEPPESEN RESIDENCY TUTORS Editor LAURA VOIGT COLLABORATORS

01 INDEX OF contents — Productsonthemarket. .05 IMPACTCHOICES AND Line Thastum by A NotebookonSustainableChoicesinPhotography.03 - . . .20 among . 19 choices friendly - Somecommentstothemostenvironmentally - Paper ...... 13 . 07 Equipment - Imaging . 06 . . Note . - Introductory - PaperRecycling. . 17 - PaperProduction. .15 Cameras . 11- Digital Development . 09 - Film 02 sustainable choices in photography

03 Secondly, it is not normally a part of artistic and photographic culture to consider the sustainability concerning the production. – The fact that many artists have become ill from the materials and products they use, shows that the environment and health are closely related, and that there is too little focus on the harmfulness of the materials and product.

We have made “A on sustainable chooses in photography”, for two reasons. To try to locate less environmental harmful choices in our own photographic process and production of exhibition and publi- cation; Human Ecology // Images in the Anthropocene. And to help photographers in general to be more aware of the environmental im- pact of the photographic process and to be able to make a more sus- tainable choice. ithin The Independent AIR and through our photographic W The “Notebook on sustainable choices in photography” is an attempt project Human Ecology // Images in the Anthropocene, we aim to be to discover as environmentally safe photographic methods as possible, a part of a change towards a world where human beings act more bal- and to avoid the most harmful choices. There are several ways to make anced as a part of the ecosystems of the planet. Therefor we will act as less harmful photographic processes: One way is to choose the less sustainable as possible in the choices that we make, in all the practical harmful industrial products; film, developer, paper, , printer and print- things we do. We want to go as far as our knowledge, economy and ing studios, as far as they are available. Another way is to choose alter- strength reach. We would like to be decent. native “homemade” processes that do not contain harmful chemicals and do not include materials with a significant environmental impact. Sustainability or the environmental impact is seldom a factor taken into Therefore, the notebook is divided in to two parts in separate docu- consideration equally to quality and economy when choices are made. ments: Options for Alternative Photographic Processes and Impact and This is the case in many areas as well as the photographic. The pho- Choices - Products on the Marked. tograhic artist evaluates the artistic expression, the graphic quality and the economy, but does rarely focus on the environmental impact of the The present version of the notebook contains Impact and Choices - photographic process. Products on the Marked. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, because it is not easily ac- cessible to make a sustainable choice. It is neither visible whether a LINE THASTUM product is harmful to the environment or environmentally friendly. Co-founder and Environmental Sustainability Director of The Independent AIR. 04 IMPACT AND CHOICES - PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET

05 In the following, we give an overview over the environmental food prints in the photographic process. We inspect each step of the photo- graphic process, including analogue and digital imaging, printing and choices of paper, for its general environmental concern and subse- quentially suggest advice for reducing each food print. We wish that this notebook will raise awareness and increase the level of knowledge about the environmental impact of photography. Furthermore, photog- raphers can use it as a guideline to make more sustainable choices.

During our investigations, we discovered, that the amount of sustain- able alternatives in photography is very limited. This means, first of all, that making environmentally friendly choices is somewhat difficult for the individual artist. But it also means that there has not been a large interest among manufacturers to provide environmentally friendly alter- natives and that there is still a high potential of developing new green products and methods for photography. Therefore, if one is to drive change the demand among customers, i.e. photo artists, to manufac- turers of photographic material has to increase

We hope that initiatives like these will increasingly set a focus on sus- tainability, raise the demand for environmentally friendly choices and thereby accelerate the development of green methods and materials.

LAURA VOIGT INTRODUCTORY NOTE INTRODUCTORY 06 In analogue photography, producing the image includes a number of steps, in which material is used during the process, including film and chemical solutions for the development of the film.

Photographic film is made of a base of plastic, i.e. acetate or polyester, which carries the emulsion made up of gel- IMAGING atin and light sensitive silver halide crystals. The housing of the film is composed of plastic. EQUIPMENT 07 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE

• Plastic is usually produced from petrochemicals, which count as • Since cellulose acetate is biodegradable and comes partly from re- nonrenewable sources and the consumption of which will exhaust the newable sources, it should be preferred to film with polyester. However, natural reserves. Upon production of the plastic, furthermore, a high the origin of cellulose fibers is hardly distinguishable, i.e. if they come amount of energy is spend. Even though plastic materials often can be from sustainable forestry. Moreover, nowadays most film base is made recycled, these processes usually downgrade the plastic and take up a of polyester. lot of energy.1 When the base of the film is made of cellulose acetate, the plastic is biodegradable and is partly produced from cellulose fib- • Film should be disposed in proper manner, so that silver salt crystals ers, i.e. from plants, which count as a renewable source. do not reach natural waters. Local waste disposals have special pro- cesses to recover the silver to be used again. • The gelatin of the emulsion of the film is used for the fixation of the silver salt crystals, which to a high extent comes as a by-product from the meat and leather industry, which is a significant environmental bur- den in connection to GHGs emissions and water pollution.2

• The light sensitive silver halide crystals are toxic to water organisms.3

NOTES 1 R. C. Thompson, C. J. Moore, F. S. vom Saal, S. H. Swan, Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009, 364(1526), 2153-2166. 2 H. Steinfeld, P. Gerber, T. Wassenaar, V. Castel, M. Rosales, C. de Haan, Lifestock’s Long Shadow. Environmental Issues and Options. FAO, Rom, 2007. 3 For more information: The Fate and Effects of Silver in the Environment. Eastman Kodak Company, 2003. 08 Developing the film is carried out by treating the film with chemical solutions. Subsequentially, the resulting negative pic- ture is exposed with light onto the .

FILM DEVELOPMENT 09 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

4 GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE

• The developer solution contains chemicals, that are harmful in dif- • Strictly work according to safety regulations, while developing film. ferent ways, such as hydrochinon (flammable, possibly carcinogenic, Safety goggles and gloves should be worn. In case of pregnancy, it is harmful if inhaled), metol (harmful if swallowed, possibly allergenic to recommended to refrain from handling these solutions. skin, can cause organ damage and extremely harmful for aquatic life), phenyldiamine (toxic if swallowed, harmful in contact with skin, eyes or • The chemical solutions should never be drained into the sink but if inhaled, possibly allergenic to skin, possibly mutagenic and carcino- collected and recycled properly. genic, extremely harmful for aquatic life), borax (possibly damaging fer- tility and the unborn child, causes serious eye irritation) and phenidon • Studios, that develop film, usually have to fulfill protocols and often (harmful if swallowed, toxic to aquatic life). give information about how they handle the chemical solutions on their websites. • The fixer solution contains thioshulphate, which is rather harmless. However, treatment of the film with these solutions dissolves the un- • Some companies sell developers that are free of metol and hydro- exposed silver ions of the photographic film, which makes the solution chinon. Metol can be replaced by phenidon, which is used in a much harmful for aquatic life. smaller concentration and is much less harmful (for example: environ- mentally friendly developers from spur-photo). • The photographic paper has a layer with light sensitive silver crys- tals, which are harmful for the aquatic environment. • Since each picture has a monetary price when shooting analogue, the artist is generally more conscious about the number of pictures produced. Additionally, one should also consider that each picture creates an environmental burden and therefore shall be even more considerate about the amount of pictures taken and material used.

NOTES 4 Information about developing analogue film: D. Myers, Chemistry of Photography. Online Chemical Engineering Information, 2009. GlobalSpec. Retrieved January 25, 2009. Safety information for each of the chemicals to be found at: http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/. 10 Digital cameras have undoubtedly changed the environmen- tal impact of photography. Pictures are produced electronically and film and chemicals are not needed longer. However, the electronic process has an impact in the form of high amounts of electronic waste and use up and manufacturing of electronic products, such as batteries. FILM DEVELOPMENT 11 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE

• A shorter lifetime as well as faster upgrade cycles of digital cameras • All the electronics should be recycled properly and not put into and gear to have the best technology at hand compared to analogue common trash. cameras shortens the time of usage for a camera.5 This leads to in- creased production of cameras and their applications and increased • Additionally, the awareness of the impact of electronic waste should amount of electronic waste. The production of electronics demands 6 be increased. It is rarely taken into consideration, when buying new high amounts of energy and potentially harmful chemicals. The recy- electronic gear, such as a new camera. A quality camera with a higher cling of electronics can often be difficult. Additionally, electronic waste lifetime should be preferred from those that might break more easily can be hazardous and toxics like lead, mercury, and cadmium can leach 7 and buying second hand should be increasingly taken into considera- into the soil and water. tion. • Cameras and cables are to a large extent out of plastics. Plastic is made up of fossil fuels and are hard to recycle.

• LCD displays on cameras take up little energy. However their life- time can be problematic. Their components, e.g. liquid crystals and mercury are hardly biodegradeable and materials used for production of the screens, can be hazardous in nature. Possibly, rare metals are mined under problematic conditions. There are considerable impacts on global warming, due to water eutrophication as a result of LCD pro- duction.8

NOTES 5 Some Thoughts on Digital Camera Lifespan (accessed 20 March, 2017). 6 E. D. Williams, R. U. Ayres, M. Heller, The 1.7 Kilogram Microchip: Energy and Mate- rial Use in the Production of Semiconductor Devices. Environ. Sci & Tech. 2002, 36(24), 5504-5510. 7 Environmental Issues in the Electronics Industry (accessed 20 March, 2017). 8 T. Ankita, S. Chatterjee, Liquid Crystal Display: Environment & Technology. IJEST 2013, 1(7), 110-123. 12 The consumption of paper is the main environmental and resource-related burden in the life cycle of an item of printed matter.9

The raw material for paper in fine art is from wood or cot- ton fibers. PAPER 13 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE • While some of the wood is grown in well-managed forests and planta- tions, too much of it is still the result of illegal logging and the destruc- • FSC and PEFC certification indicates that the raw material for the 10 tion of forests with old-growth and high conservation value. paper comes from sustainable forestry addressing issues such as log- ging and deforestation. Hahnemühle’s paper is produced from pulp • Often wood or other raw material for paper production is grown in from sustainable sources with these certifications. monocultures. This decreases biodiversity and threatens the habitats of several rare wildlife species. • Cotton paper is generally seen as the more sustainable option than wood paper, because it grows faster and is therefore “more” renew- • High amounts of water are used to produce cotton, possibly impact- able. Additionally, the cotton material used for paper production is often ing freshwater resources and ecosystems. Cotton production uses the by-product of cotton grown for the industry. Therefore, it cot- agricultural chemicals heavily and therefore offers a significant risk ton paper should generally be preferred before paper from wood fiber. of pollution of freshwater ecosystems with nutrients, salts and pesti- However, one should keep in mind that high amounts of water and 11 cides. pesticides are used in cotton farming.

• Generally, the artist should be aware of, that every piece of paper has an environmental impact. Therefore, paper use should be reduced as much as possible and not wasted senselessly. The lighter the paper, the fewer raw materials is contained in the piece of paper. Therefore, light and possibly paper from recycled material should be used when- ever the appearance of the paper is not significant (e.g. test prints or other).

NOTES 9 About Nordic ecolabelled Printing companies, printed matter, envelopes and other con- verted paper products, 2011 (accessed 20 Mar, 2017). 10 Pulp and Paper, WWF, (accessed 20 March, 2017). 11 The Impact of Cotton on Fresh Water Resources and Ecosystems, WWF, 1999 (ac- cessed 20 March, 2017). 14 Paper is produced by pulping the woodchips, which is the process of taking the main components in wood apart and gath- ering the cellulose fibers. This can be done chemically and me- chanically. Afterwards, the pulp is pressed and dried to manu- facture the paper. To gain a special surface, e.g. for inkjet photo prints, the paper is coated. PAPER PRODUCTION 15 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

12 GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE

• Paper production demands an extremely high amount of power, • Since the 1980s bleaching with chlorine gases has highly decreased, water and material. Wastewater treatment facilities and transporta- hence also decreasing the release of chlorine compounds. The labels tions use up additional energy. Therefore, the paper industry consumes ECF (elementally chlorine free), TCF (totally chlorine free) and PCF large amount of fossil fuel energy and can be seen as a significant (process chlorine free, for recycled ) indicate the use of chlorine emitter of green house gases. during the production of the paper. Hahnemühle refrains from treating fibers in their production process with bound chlorine. • Wastewater discharges contain contaminants and high amount of organic materials, which can cause eutrophication. • Whenever possible, paper without resin coating and with TCF and PCF labels should be used, to avoid the use of petrochemical mate- • Fumes can contain contaminants and green house gases. rial and guarantee recyclability of the paper and a clean production process. • Through the process of bleaching with chlorine toxic chlorine com- pounds are formed, which are possibly released into the environment.

• Resin coatings of digital photographic paper usually come from pet- rochemical sources and therefore increase the environmental impact.13

• Additionally, resin coatings hinder or completely prevent recycling of the papers.

NOTES 12 Pulp and Paper, WWF, (accessed 20 March, 2017). 13 J. Zammit-Lucia, Green in Print™, A guide to environmentally friendly choices in paper, 2008: (accessed 20 March, 2017). 16 Through , natural resources can be saved, by using fibers from paper waste instead of plants. The paper waste is first processed into pulp, which is then cleaned by re- moving any type of glue or plastic coatings and the pulp. After bleaching, the pulp can be made into new paper. This process is far less demanding on energy and chemicals com- pared to using virgin pulp. PAPER RECYCLING 17 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE • Certain , such as certain ink-jet techniques and liquid toners, can disrupt the recycling of the paper because they can be difficult to re- • Energy and water usage of producing paper from recycled material is move in the deinking process. Often, strong and sometimes harmful reduced for recycled paper compared to virgin paper. chemicals are used to remove the ink from the paper. • However, also recycled paper carries a range of environmental con- • The sludge, which is the leftover after processing the paper waste, cerns for recycled paper. No paper is neutral for the environment. contains a large amount of different chemicals (up to 10 000) and con- Therefore, the amount of paper that is used should be kept to a taminants from ink and the deinking chemicals, some of which are minimum. problematic.14 • The use of resin- should be refrained from as much • Because recycling of paper is rarely recycled locally, long transpor- as possible. tations increases the use of energy and the combustion of fossil fuels and production of GHGs. • Inks that do not contain harmful compounds and ensure recyclability of the paper should be used. More transparent labeling for inks regard- • Paper recycling is a degradation process: After being recycled 4-6 ing these concerns is strongly needed, so that one can make a choice times, the fibers become too short and weak to be useful in making for environmentally friendly ink that will not present a problem during 15 paper. recycling. With conventional inks it is difficult to find out what kind of compounds are contained in the ink, if they will be a problem in the re- • Resin coatings hinder or completely prevent recycling of the pa- cycling process and if they are potentially harmful for the environment. pers.16

NOTES 14 K. Pivnenko, E. Eriksson, T. F. Astrup, Waste paper for recycling: Overview and identifi- cation of potentially critical substances, Waste Management 2015, 45, 134-142. 15 I. Cabalova, F. Kacik, A. Geffert, C. Kacikova, Environmental Management in Practice, Dr. Elzbieta Broniewicz (Ed.), InTech, 2011. 16 J. Zammit-Lucia, Green in Print™, A guide to environmentally friendly choices in paper, 2008: (accessed 20 March, 2017). 18 Fine art digital printing is usually done with ink-jet techniques onto resin-coated papers. The resin coating is made of plastics such as pol- yethylene from petrochemical origins and is possibly decreasing recy- clability of the paper. Often archival paper is used possibly from cotton fibers, which can be argued to be more sustainable than wood fibers, because they count as a byproduct from the textile industry and cotton is a faster regrowing resource than trees. Paper with FSC and PEFC certification is produced from raw material from sustainable forestry and the labels TCF and PCF indicate chlorine free bleaching.

One of the main issues in making sustainable decisions regarding the paper is the lack of information from suppliers. For companies such as Epson and Tecco, nearly no information could be found about their pro- duction. Epson’s long sustainability report, unfortunately is held rather general and does not mention chlorine bleaching or origin of material Some comments for their paper and if their paper is FSC certified. On their datasheets, Tecco labeled some of the papers with FSC labels (e.g. PM230 Matt), while others did not have such a label. No information about partially to the most recycled paper and chlorine bleach could be found. Hahnemühle, how- ever gave some sufficient information: no bleaching with chlorine, their raw material comes from sustainable, FSC certified forests, good re- environmentally cycling policies, their electricity comes from renewable sources (water, wind and solar power) and the observing of environmental standards. friendly choices Hence, Hahnemühle seems to be the most sustainable choice. We want to encourage the individual artist to increasingly demand envi- ronmentally friendly products and to inquire companies, such as Epson among paper and Tecco, about the environmental impact of their products, in order to initiate the development of more environmental products. 19 Digital photographic printing is often done with ink-jet tech- niques. Inks can be based on water, oil or organic solvents car- rying the inks or pigments.

PRINTING 20 GENERAL CONCERNS & ADVICE:

17 GENERAL CONCERNS ADVICE

• Most often volatile organic compounds (VOC) are among the ingre- • Epson provides datasheets with information about the contents of dients of inks, which are of petrochemical origin and therefore produced the ink cartridges and its hazard identifications.18 However, many of from non-renewable material. VOC are also used as cleaning agents the compounds are proprietary and therefore some compounds cannot for printing machines. They can affect the health of printers, accelerate be identified. the formation of ground-level smog and lead to the formation of GHGs. • The Nordic Ecolabel certifies digital printing studios that follow cer- • Heavy metals, and other compounds, hazardous to human health tain guidelines, such as the exclusion of certain harmful chemicals, are now commonly excluded as containing in printing inks. However, decreased usage of VOC and energy and increased recyclability of they can still occur as trace compounds. materials.

• Accumulation of high amounts of packaging, packaging wastes, • Cradle to cradle (C2C) certified printing companies deliver print ser- electronic equipment and electronic waste. vices without any pollution or waste. However, so far we could not find any studios that are provide fine art photo prints. An example for a C2C • Some adhesives or coatings used after printing can be problematic company is PurePrint. for the recyclability of the paper. • Soy and vegetable-based inks are less harmful and count as re- newable compared to their mineral oil based counterparts. However, for high quality prints those inks are not suited yet. Certain hazardous chemicals, such as toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons, have been gener- ally eliminated or minimized from ink formulations.

• Reusable cartridges can be filled up with ink and decrease the amount of waste.

NOTES 17 Nordic Ecolabelling for Digital Photographic Development Services, 2013 (accessed 20 March, 2017). 18 Get the datasheets here. 21 The Independent Air 2017