Regenerative is an act or the process of regenerating. The state of being regenerated, spiritual renewal, revival, restoration of a body, bodily part, or biological system (such as a forest) after injury or as a normal process.

That which is sustainable maintains what already exists, but does not restore (Eco) systems that have been lost. The word “sustainable” strictly means “self-sustaining” but is often misunderstood, particularly in the media and by the general public, to merely mean “able to last” or “the capacity to endure.” This has been represented, humorously, by the example of two men talking together. One asks the other, “How’s your marriage going?” To which the other man replies, rather dejectedly, “Well, it’s sustainable.” The term has also been used to describe materials, products, or processes that are in some degree (probably) less toxic or damaging to the environment than their more usual versions.

Thus, a product containing 80% recycled material might be described as “sustainable,” whereas in reality, it is only relatively more sustainable than a version fabricated with no recycled material at all. To be actually sustainable, a product must be made from 100%recycled (and recyclable) material, so that it can, in its entirety, be further recycled. This is seldom the case, and when the energy costs of the processing are also included, there is an inevitable overall “loss,” even if “renewable” energy is used, since such energy sources are usually constructed from materials that must themselves be extracted and processed, all with their own attendant energy demands.

The intervention by humans to introduce regenerative systems can be considered to improve the world from how we found it, and to do so in perpetuity. Fundamentally, the word “regenerative” means “the capacity to bring into existence again”; hence, if an item or system is regenerative, it has the inherent capacity to bring itself into existence once more. Thus, for “regenerative” to be an accurate description of a product, it must be not only 100%recycled and recyclable, but also improve the environmental conditions at all stages of its manufacture and use: e.g. the factory that made it, those businesses and other organizations which used it subsequently, and so on throughout its life-cycle.

These improved conditions might include the creation of habitat (including building soil), water purification, and the enhancement of nitrogen- and carbon-fixing processes in the soil, etc. Hence, to achieve this for a completely artificial system is a challenge. The size of a system is an important factor on whether or not it is regenerative, with smaller designs more likely it is to be stable and fulfill the criterion. It is possible to create larger regenerative systems by linking together smaller regenerative “units” so to provide inputs for multiple human-inclusive-ecological systems.