Uploaded on 2020-06-07 by Christina Mogk

While construction used to be localized, it's increasingly difficult to get everything required for a project locally. Rather than showing a building under construction, I've chosen a bathroom renovation in progress in my own home. The bathroom is relatively small and the footprint somewhat awkward. However, it will (eventually) be a three-piece bathroom, containing a corner toilet, vanity, and shower (already installed). Many products could be purchased locally, but they're imported. Surprisingly, no corner toilets are locally manufactured. It, along with the shower, faucets, and mirror, were made in the US. The floor tile was imported from Spain. The recycled glass wall tiles (not yet installed), were made in British Columbia, a province on Canada's west coast. The drywall, vanity, and basin are from Québec. Only the radiant floor heating, the plumbing pipes and components, and the paint used were made locally. In this case, local equates to within 150 km of my home. Part of the issue is where raw materials are available. The other is that many manufacturers design their products locally, but manufacture them elsewhere to save on labour costs. This globalization process definitely uses more energy and has a more substantial carbon footprint.