Can analogue photography be eco-friendly?
The importance of sustainable practices and ecological awareness in all walks of life has become all too apparent in recent years. The recent COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last November certainly brought more global attention to the issue, though proposed changes agreed between countries will naturally take longer to implement than what is required. Since I have spent my working life involved in analogue photography, which is reliant on base materials and chemistry, all consumers of natural resources and energy, I began to think about what environmental issues need to be considered with this work.
In order to find out more, I spoke to a photographic manufacturer, a newly open processing lab and an artist working in alternative, sustainable methods of production.
Adox
● Mirko Boeddecker, Director ● www.adox.de
Adox is a German photographic company producing a range of high-quality black & white films, papers, and chemistry. Its main factory, close to Berlin, opened in 2006 and in 2015 it acquired the former Ilford Imaging coating plant in Marly, Switzerland, for research and development of new products. Manufacturing traditional photographic products consumes a lot of energy, but as the Adox facilities have been built to specifications to suit the size of their production, the company’s director, Mirko Boeddecker, is confident that they are doing everything possible to minimise their environmental footprint. This concern extends to the development of new products where Adox is introducing chemistry that’s termed as eco-friendly.
