A few years ago, I was working on a pitch for an unnamed television campaign (“Living with Ed”) on an unnamed channel (Planet Green) and was struck by one of the conceptual by-products that the uber green Ed Begley Jr. left behind.
Plastic. More specifically, recycled plastic. And maybe there are some things we DO want to last forever (or at least a very long time).
Rather than using new wood for his white picket fence, he had his made from recycled milk cartons. As long as people own property and dogs there will probably always be fencing. I would do this in an instant.
And now I am seeing this fantastic chair in all the design mags. It is the Emeco Navy chair made from recycled coke bottles. (the Dwell article here)
It would be ideal to identify objects that should have a very long shelf life and direct the recycling efforts to that end rather than just making stuff for stuff’s sake out of recycled material.
And if we are going to make things out of brand new plastic, let’s at least identify objects that should last at least a few lifetimes. (still, no reason these can't be made out of recycled material)
(also please take a look at alexandra lange's plastic defense in design observer)
Feature: "Made in US"
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