Sustainable Design is the new black in the Design World. We often talk about practicing sustainable design, however we often forget to consider what we are in fact sustaining, or attempting to sustain. In a marketing-zealous world, many projects are now labeled 'green' and yet how 'green' are they?

If we design a dwelling which reduces the amount of energy required to run it, yet utilize components shipped from half-way around the globe, are we truly practicing sustainability? If instead we construct a dwelling using traditional building methods and educate the owners of the dwelling to help construct the dwelling themselves, have we not only constructed a dwelling with a smaller energy footprint, and provided knowledge which will aid in sustainability through self-sufficiency?

If we create products derived from rare natural plants from the Amazon, we may be using less chemicals in our products, and thus helping sustain our own water quality, but in fact rapidly depleting the resources required to sustain a unique regional cultural tradition on another continent. If however we develop a product which utilizes locally-grown plants from our own region, we not only create a natural, regionally-unique product, but help sustain our own local economy and people in the process.

At the end of the day we need to ask ourselves this question: Are we practicing sustainable design or designing for sustainability. It would seem these are two very different things.