7. Product Policy and Management – Product Stewardship

The post-war "Glorious Thirty Years" saw the advent of the Consumer Society, with the unprecedented expansion of household appliances, audiovisuals and the increasingly commonplace automobile. To name but a few! A production economy gave way to a market economy, and today's globalization, with China the workshop of the world, is only amplifying the phenomenon.

Published in 1972 at the end of the "Trente Glorieuses", the Meadows report "The limits to Growth", sometimes referred to as the "Club of Rome" report, advocated a halt to "zero growth". This report, which had a worldwide impact, based its recommendations on both the limits of our resources and the impact of pollution on our environment. At the time, China was in the midst of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), non-existent on the world stage and almost on the brink of collapse.

So...