The Carbohydrate Economy An essential dimension of detoxifying production is increasing the use of renewable and bio-based materials that can be more safely reabsorbed by natural systems. The achievement of sustainability depends just a much on moving back (or ahead) to renewable sources of materials as it does on moving towards renewable sources of energy. By closing loops, renewable resources help dematerialize as well as detoxify the economy. The current hegemony of non-renewable and synthetic materials in our current economy was established in a relatively short time frame. According to Tim Jackson (1996, p. 29), "In 1900, even after 150 years of industrialization, over half of the total materials in use (excluding those used for fuels and for foods) were still provided by agricultural, wildlife and forestry products." The earliest synthetic materials and plastics were derived from plant matter. Rayon, for example, was derived from cotton, and the first movie filmcelluloidcame from cellulosic materials, as did the first cellophane tape. Even in the face of the growing power of the oil and auto industries, advocates for renewable resources remained influential. In the 1930s and early 1940s a strong movement emerged advocating the comprehensive use of agricultural materials for