Editing Service economy (section)

==Environmental effects of the service economy==
This is seen, especially in [[green economics]] and more specific theories within it such as [[Natural Capitalism]], as having these benefits:{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
*Much easier integration with [[accounting]] for nature's services
*Much easier integration with [[state services]] under [[globalization]], e.g. meat inspection is a service that is assumed within a product price, but which can vary quite drastically with jurisdiction, with some serious effects.
*Association of goods movements in raw materials and energy markets with the related negative environmental effects (representing [[emission trading|emissions]] or other [[pollution]], [[biodiversity loss]], [[biosecurity]] risk) [[public bad]]s so that no commodity can be traded without assuming responsibility for damage done by its extraction, processing, shipping, trading and sale - its [[comprehensive outcome]]
*Easier integration with [[urban ecology]] and [[industrial ecology]] modelling
*Making it easier to relate to the [[Experience Economy]] of actual [[quality of life]] decisions made by human beings based on assumptions about service, and integrating [[economics]] better with [[marketing]] theory about [[brand]] value e.g. products are purchased for their assumed reliability in some known process.  This assumes that the user's experience with the brand (implying a service they expect) is far more important than its technical characteristics

[[Product stewardship]] or product take-back are words for a specific requirement or measure in which the service of [[waste disposal]] is included in the distribution chain of an industrial product and is paid for at time of purchase.  That is, paying for the safe and proper disposal when you pay for the product, and relying on those who sold it to you to dispose of it.

Those who advocate it are concerned with the later phases of [[Product lifecycle (marketing)|product lifecycle]] and the [[comprehensive outcome]] of the whole production process. It is considered a pre-requisite to a strict service economy interpretation of (fictional, national, legal) "commodity" and "product" relationships.

It is often applied to paint, tires, and other goods that become [[toxic waste]] if not disposed of properly.  It is most familiar as the [[container deposit]] charged for a [[deposit bottle]].  One pays a fee to buy the bottle, separately from the fee to buy what it contains.  If one returns the bottle, the fee is returned, and the supplier must return the bottle for [[re-use]] or [[recycling]]. If not, one has paid the fee, and presumably this can pay for [[landfill]] or [[litter]] control measures that dispose of diapers or a broken bottle. Also, since the same fee can be collected by anyone finding and returning the bottle, it is common for people to collect these and return them as a means of gaining a small income. This is quite common for instance among [[homeless]] people in U.S. cities.  Legal requirements vary:  the bottle itself may be considered the [[property]] of the purchaser of the contents, or, the purchaser may have some obligation to return the bottle to some depot so it can be [[recycling|recycled]] or re-used.

In some countries, such as [[Germany]], [[law]] requires attention to the [[comprehensive outcome]] of the whole extraction, production, distribution, use and waste of a product, and holds those profiting from these legally responsible for any outcome along the way.  This is also the trend in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and [[European Union|EU]] generally.  In the [[United States]], there have been many [[class action suit]]s that are effectively product stewardship [[Legal liability|liability]] - holding companies responsible for things the product does which it was never advertised to do.

Rather than let liability for these problems be taken up by the [[public sector]] or be haphazardly assigned one issue at a time to companies via lawsuits, many [[accounting reform]] efforts focus on achieving [[full cost accounting]].  This is the [[financial capital|financial]] reflection of the comprehensive outcome - noting the gains and losses to all parties involved, not just those investing or purchasing.  Such moves have made [[moral purchasing]] more attractive, as it avoids liability and future lawsuits.

The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] advocates product stewardship to "reduce the life-cycle environmental effects of products." The ideal of product stewardship, as administered by the EPA in 2004, "taps the shared ingenuity and responsibility of businesses, consumers, governments, and others," the EPA states at a Web site.