According to the Toaster Project, yes, one man is capable of global sourcing raw materials to create his very own handmade toaster. But it's not easy!
Thomas Thwaites is an artist currently working on sourcing and creating all the components to build his very own toaster - retail price approximately $8. This includes copper for the wiring, oil for the plastic, iron for the heating element. He is traveling the world to find small-scale sources of these materials which are generally only available industrially.
"The project won't be a 'how is it made?' industrial promo or an anti-industry tirade either. It's about scale, the total inter-reliance of people and societies, the triviality of some (anti-)globalisation discourse, what we have to lose, and DIY."
The project really connects with a lot of themes in import compliance and low-cost country sourcing.
- Economies of scale - mass producing toasters allows consumers to toast hundreds of slices of bread for just $8. I'm guessing Thomas will prob only toast a few and at a cost in the thousands of dollars when you consider his travel expenses.
- Specialization - By specializing in certain components and materials, we have higher-quality parts to our toasters. Thomas' toaster is going to be functional but probably not durable or up to consumer standards- (in toasting terms and in safety terms.
- Globalization - Thomas is unable to source all components of the toaster from his native country, the UK. He has plans to visit Finland and the North Sea to bring back just enough material for one toaster.
- Efficiency - How long has this project taken so far? I am not sure. But it's probably less time than it takes for a factory to import their materials and assemble the toaster.
Special thanks to Freakonomics for highlighting the Toaster Project.
For more on the project, including a cool photo of what happens to iron ore inside a microwave, visit We Make Money Not Art.
Video: Automating the Import Supply Chain
Sourcing your own raw materials and building a toaster from scratch certainly doesn't look easy - but neither is keeping up with new customs compliance regulations and managing your supliers.
Fortunately with the most complete "raw data material" of global trade regulations from over 120 countries, Import Compliance Software can make this easier. Learn how an import compliance system works in this 4 minute video.
