Designers’ response to materials recycling
The market is evolving and with it, trends are changing. We are facing a new era, an era of design in which sustainability gains a new protagonism, and designers all over the world are showing a stronger-than-ever commitment to the environment. But there is more to it. Good company policies and transparency does not cut it anymore, and consumers are increasingly demanding greater creativity and originality in the products they buy.
Phenomena such as upcycling, a type of creative recycling, are becoming relevant and increasingly successful. The products that become useless are being reinvented without the traditional limits of recycling, and can become an infinite number of new things, sometimes even maintaining their original appearance but with a completely new function.
Upcycling not only promotes sustainability, but also encourages the development of creative thinking and innovation by encouraging designers to think of new features for objects that have become obsolete. It benefits are far-reaching, from raising awareness of recycling and sustainability, to cost-cutting, avoiding unnecessary consumption and reducing carbon emissions.
These advantages do not go unnoticed, and a growing number of designers are adopting this new way of creating in a more respectful and sustainable way. From Ekohunters we want to give visibility to these brands, to demonstrate that a new way of designing is possible and within everyone’s reach, creating new shapes, functionalities and even materials from objects that would otherwise end up in the trash.
WASTEBOARDS, born in Amsterdam in 2015, they create high-quality skateboards from recycled plastic bottle caps. In addition to cleaning rivers, oceans, beaches of plastic waste, each skateboard is handmade, allowing for great freedom of customization.
TOLHUIS, also of Dutch origin, they are committed to careful and elegant design, creating decor, lighting and furniture from materials discarded by neighboring factories. They also work in collaboration with prisons and social workshops.
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DICK MOBY founded by two surfers who decided to stop being mere witnesses and start actively fighting pollution. Their solution was to create glasses recycling the plastic that accumulates on the planet.
RUG SOLID takes sustainability standards in the world of interior design a step further, creating handmade rugs from recycled materials (such as fishing nets or leather), or natural and organic materials such as jute fibers.
MORE CIRCULAR following the philosophy of «retake, remake, restore», they recycle some of the tons of used plaster that goes to waste every year, by means of an innovative process that allows them to create sustainable lamps, elegant, simple and very practical.
In a society where, in addition to attractive and practical design, the people are beginning to demand the durability and sustainability of the product, these brands and designers have accepted the great task of guaranteeing design based on recycling and environmental commitment. A breakthrough in the industry that is good for people and good for the planet.
