Think about it. 

100 years ago our choice of cars was limited to one. Doctors prescribed Heroin, Mercury and Leeches. Penicillin wouldn’t be discovered for another four years. Movies were silent, women had just been given the right to vote, child labor was cool with people, indoor toilets were just catching on, and we had collectively promised ourselves that one world war was more than enough.

There were nearly six billion less people on the planet and approximately 500 more species of animal. Nobody who wasn’t falling had ever travelled over about 30km per hour. And, outside of a game of hide-and-seek, not many people would have ever asked the question, “Where are you?”

But one of the biggest changes over the last century is how we consume. We bought less stuff and the stuff we did buy we cared for and usually handed on. It made sense financially. And, in hindsight, environmentally.

This generation will be the one who creates the step change. Wiser for some pretty big mistakes, we’ll keep the good change from the last century, lose the bad, and leave the world in a better place for our children’s children.

New ideas are arriving and old ideas are being resurrected. Find them. Encourage them. Share them. At Ironclad we are working to re-introduce the idea of generational shopping. Or, shopping well and buying once. Or, buying mindfully. We are not going to save the planet, but a significant shift in how people shop globally actually might.

And our mission seems to be catching on.

If the change experienced over the last three generations is anything to go by, the world in 100 years will be absolutely amazing.