How sustainable is ceramic practice?

• Clays are formed as a result of millions of years of erosion and decomposition so although this is an
  ongoing and continuous process, they are a finite resource. However - clay is one of the most
  plentiful minerals there is and the total deposits of clay throughout the world are so vast that the
  lifetimes requirements of the human race are dwarfed to insignificance. A viable clay deposit can
  take from as little as tens of years for a river mud to many thousands of years for a red marl to
  many millions of years for a fireclay.
• Sterilising clay reserves with bad planning is a significant problem: Residents in houses too close to
  clay reserves protest against clay mining, and roads, factories and houses are often built on top of
  good clay. Unfortunately, accepted market prices for clay are below the cost of extraction: Raw clay
  is far cheaper than almost any other mineral compared with its cost of extraction but the value of
  finished pottery could easily sustain a viable raw-clay price.
• Those employed in clay extraction will all be paid a living wage or probably far better; the
  extraction companies are committed to reaching carbon neutrality in the near future; clay
  extraction sites are invariably left in a far better state after mining than they were before in terms
  of landscape appearance, ecology and industrial heritage.
• The raw clays that Potclays uses are almost completely UK produced meaning low carbon emissions
  on transport, employing UK labour, and retaining or often earning valuable foreign currency. See
  also:-
  imerys.com/group/our-group/our-commitments
  sibelco.com/sustainability
• The majority of energy expended in producing ceramic ware is at the firing stage, but this can be
  managed by the end user by seeking a sustainable energy provider and by working with more
  economical firings.
• Clay in its unfired state is infinitely recyclable. It can be slaked down or reconstituted to be used
  again and again.
• Our own manufactured kilns and those of our partner kiln makers undergo a continual process of
  development using new insulation products and design techniques as they are developed in order
  to increase the efficiency of firing and to reduce energy use.
• We have in our range several ranges of glazes that we and our partner suppliers have developed
  specifically to offer lower temperature firings, with consequential cost savings, while still achieving
  the appearance of high stoneware and reduction firings.