The treadmill of production explains the relationship between production, capitalism and the environment. This theory was introduced in the 1980s by Allan Schnaiberg to address rapid U.S environmental degradation after WWII. The treadmill links continuous economic growth to environmental degradation and the perpetuation of inequality. The actors in the treadmill are known as the growth coalition and they are the state, corporations and citizen-workers. Our economic system requires the continuous extraction of natural resources to keep progressing without regard for the impact it has on our environment and society. Economic growth is the solution so societal disruptions. Worker productivity needs to continuously increase in order to make a profit because as worker productivity increases, the treadmill increases. Even though workers are cast off by the treadmill, production becomes synonymous with economic progress and therefore workers still support this growth model for the sake of social progress.

Ecological modernization theory is an environmental sociological perspective that challenges the treadmill of production because it assumes that sustainable growth is possible without exploring the contradictions that exist. This theory emerged in the 1980s in Europe by a group of scholars in Berlin. EM can be understood and applied as both a theoretical framework and as a map for understanding environmental policy. According to the ecological modernization theory, the interests of the economy and the environment can be combined so that both benefit. Ecological modernization explains that environmental protection and environmental efficiencies can be achieved through our current economic model of capitalism which implies a continuous increase and expansion of production.