The material footprint is a metric that aggregates the total weight of resources consumed within an economy, including both renewable and non-renewable resources. While it has gained traction in environmental discussions and is included in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, critics argue that it oversimplifies complex issues. The metric fails to account for the environmental impact of different materials, such as the significant differences between the extraction of metals versus biomass. Additionally, it does not adequately address the socioeconomic consequences of resource extraction, such as labor conditions in mining. The dominance of non-metallic minerals and biomass in the material footprint raises questions about the effectiveness of focusing on this metric for sustainability efforts. Instead, a more nuanced approach that considers specific resource use, environmental impacts, and social implications is necessary for effective policy-making.