A maker who is close to their artefact can be more thoughtful about material. Often the cheapest way to mass manufacture something is to waste lots of material. It would take too much time or effort to waste less material.
Often, well-crafted artefacts make honest use of material. That is, they use materials that are suited to the task. This can mean less material used overall, and fewer types of material in the same artefact.
In this way, effort and time are often traded for a more sustainable, environmentally friendly, thoughtful artefact.