Courtesy : www.designcontest.com
Eco-friendly product design
It’s difficult to assume that such a topic as recycling of plastic may be of interest to someone. That’s false because the world is actively developing the idea of protecting the environment, processing harmful materials, sorting out the garbage and so on.
People start to come to the conclusion that everything that happens in the world is cyclical, everything that nature gives us must be valued and protected because the future is behind it.
In this way, the production of plastic products can be not only useful but also entertaining.
Plastic as a material is used in almost all spheres of life and not in small quantities. At the same time, Â there were no effective methods for recycling plastic containers till now and it could develop into a global problem. A significant influence on attracting attention to this topic was provided by global corporations, such as Adidas and G-star.
Eco-friendly design by Adidas
Adidas, well-known brand with a worldwide reputation has been unevenly breathing to the environment and environmental protection for a long time. No less well-known organization for the protection of the oceans, Parley for the Oceans, has been helping the sports brand in the production of plastic products for the third year already. Can’t understand anything?
It’s about a line of sneakers that are made from recycled polymers. The goal of this campaign is not only advertising, as someone might think. Companies such as Adidas have already reached the success and can afford to attract attention to something really important. The main goal of this story was the cessation of the use of primary plastic in production.
This spring Adidas presented three models of sneakers, to make one of them, designers used 11 plastic bottles. Moreover, the laces, heel and other parts of the shoes were made of plastic fiber. In general, it was planned to release about a milliard pairs of such shoes. We are not mathematicians and we will not calculate how much plastic was recycled thanks to such a campaign, but, undoubtedly, a lot.
The official position of Adidas remains that such global brands as they can compete for the safety of the ecosystem, starting with the recycling of plastic products. This year the company intends to involve its partners in this idea and to start manufacturing a sports uniform using recycled materials.
Eco-friendly design by G-Star
G-Star is a very popular brand all over the world. Last year no less popular Pharrell Williams became a co-owner of the company, he has already shown his design talent working with Adidas.
This time, Pharrell went much further. He has long been concerned about the effects of the production of plastic goods, so in this company decided to deal with this problem by recycling ocean garbage into jeans. The idea sounds strange enough, but as practice shows, it is successful. The singer has always distinguished himself with his creativity: once he took the world chess champion as a partner, then he came up with the idea of 3D jeans. But he is sure that such progressive ideas will make a better future.
Revolution in eco-friendly product design
The trend to give polymers a second life and maximize the use of recycling is gaining unprecedented popularity. Here are some interesting examples of eco-friendly design:
1. Young Mrs. Gembrere
A graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven presented textile sculptures at the annual Dutch Fashion Week, to make which she used recycled plastic, it was interesting enough.
2. Ikea
IKEA company also excelled in the love of recycling polymers and released a collection of chairs, made of recycled wood and plastic. The models are available in several colors and will certainly find their buyer.
Guys from IKEA don’t stop, so they released a kitchen made from recycled plastic bottles. The stylish and consistent design will certainly find its buyer, the price is just a little bit biting in comparison with the other goods. Anyway, someone needs to start saving nature …
H&M has appeared in the center of a loud scandal because of the collection for children, but authority and quality of the given brand have never been doubted. In far 2013, these guys began actively promoting the idea of recycling materials. Everyone could bring their old clothes of any brand to the H&M store for recycling, and in return receive a discount on new clothes.
The program began to be in demand, and a year later the brand launched a line of clothes from recycled materials. In October 2017 the company presented a new ‘recycled’ collection, there were only a few models, but each of them was special. Immediately after this presentation, H&M released a sports collection with tops, leggings, and others.
Since the beginning of the advertising company, H&M has recycled several million pounds of clothes, but the company does not intend to stop. In 10 years they plan to completely switch to environmental materials, and the next step would be the recognition of H&M as an eco-positive enterprise.
4. Sea2see
Adidas took plastic from the Maldives for their sneakers and Sea2see took up the coast of Catalonia. They released glasses, the frame for which was made of plastic, which they caught by fishing nets. The head of the company confidently asserts that almost all the garbage, which is clogged with the expanses of the ocean, can be easily recycled.
So what?
Manufacture of plastic products is a necessary and, at the moment, irreplaceable process. But it is worth remembering that this raw material is on the top of the rating of materials that pollute nature.
We are taught from childhood that we need to protect the environment, Â the way they will live after us. The purpose of this article is not to read morality, but to show how creative and interesting it is possible to approach a seemingly tiresome topic of manufacturing plastic products.
We’re glad that the above-mentioned companies are just a piece of a complete list of brands that are struggling with environmental pollution. Nike uses recycled polyester for its fleece collections, Stella McCartney stays for the environment for many years, American Apparel in 2008 released eco-jewelry. So maybe it’s time to think about how to make your own, maybe minimal, but a contribution to the cleanup of the planet?
