Sustainability and Design
Building on from last week’s discussion on the culture surrounding materialism, one of the most talked about buzzwords at the forefront of the design world is ‘sustainability’.
As the push for a greener society continues in the engineering space like renewable energy or electronic cars, the same is true in the design space with an emphasis on up-cycling or recycling. With a new consciousness and awareness of the impact man has on earth, governments and societies are applying an increasing amount of pressure upon designers to take environmental impacts and the interests of sustainability into design.
One of the biggest ecological decisions a designer can make is their recruitment and employment of the raw materials they use. The key feature in this category being; biodegradable.
Japan’s design scene is one of the leading nations in paving the way for practical environmental design.
A raw and contemporary example of biodegradable design is Japanese designer Jim Kuramoto’s completely biodegradable flax fibre and bio-resin chair which won best product at Stockholm Furniture Fair.
I believe that Kuramoto’s work and experiment with the chair is a glimpse into the future of a sustainable designed world. This is an admittedly rare example of the aesthetics of design and the complications of designing with an environmental conscience coming together to complete the perfect product. A focus on the principles of designing aesthetically and the impact we have on our environment should be maintained as the key objectives moving forward.
Kosuke Araki’s food waste tablewear range features a set of cups, plates and bowls. The designer aims to make the statement that food waste can be better disposed of rather than sent to landfill which a large percentage currently is. The collection is composed off carbonised vegetable waste and sources the bones and skin of animal offcuts.
In fashion the brand Ecoalf, over the course of this summer have unveiled sneakers consisting of a hybrid of algae and recycled ocean plastic. This design features a completely zero waste process behind it and boasts being able to provide a solution for two different problems.
The upper sole recycles ocean plastic to create its yarn sock like fit whilst the the outer sole is composed of processed algae which is removed from places it’s not desired or needed in an eco system. These shoes serve as functional, tangible proof of the possibilities intertwined with a renewable future.
However, as much as there is a pressure on designers and companies to consider the process behind their products, consumers have an equal part to play in fueling a wasteful culture.
As a consumerist society, we are swayed towards a consumerist culture which arguably should be discouraged in the sake of sustainability. Perhaps people should protest the likes of planned obsolescence due to saturated release of products. The burning desire some of us will feel to throw their 8 months old iPhone out the window for an incremental upgrade to the subsequent Apple release is wasteful by nature. A pressure on companies to allow their products a longer lifespan is brilliant for both the consumer and the planet. It encourages companies to make each product release more substantial which would promote innovation in product design whilst it slows the rate of production which benefits our planet and its finite resources.
It’s time people voted with their wallets.
