sustainability

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Image features a large, mottled-blue irregularly shaped plastic vessel tapering to a narrow neck with a circular mouth. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Big, Blue, and Bioplastic
Designers Rutger de Regt and Marlies van Putten, the principals of Handmade Industrials, are both inspired and concerned by today’s production processes that are increasingly driven by computers. They ask, are we reducing or removing the presence of human experience and experimentation in manufacturing? Are we losing touch with our environment—is it becoming increasingly artificial?...
Image features a tornado-like object composed of metal strips at center; text in blue above in a wavy line; text on either side, and photographs of buildings. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
In the Eye of the Tornado: Rethinking the Limits of Design
Today’s Object of the Day celebrates the winners of Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Awards. Honoring lasting achievement in American design, the Awards take place annually during National Design Week, with festivities for all ages celebrating design creativity and innovation. Today’s blog post was originally published on March 29, 2018. As design director for her alma mater, Art Center...
Image features a tornado-like object composed of metal strips at center; text in blue above in a wavy line; text on either side, and photographs of buildings. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
In the Eye of the Tornado: Rethinking the Limits of Design
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. As design director for her alma mater, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, from 1991 to 1996, designer and artist Rebeca Méndez (b. 1962, Mexico City; active Los Angeles) played a key role in re-envisioning...
Sitting on a Sustainable Cloud
The softseating stool is a collapsible form made of white, paper-thin honeycombed polyethylene sheets joined between two white cardboard panels that connect with magnets to form a cylindrical shape. When fanned outward and secured, the polyethylene sheets are sturdy enough to support weight, yet remain comfortable to the user. The stool is portable, lightweight, and...
A Sustainable Seat: The Alfi Chair
The Alfi chair is the product of a 2015 collaboration between British furniture-maker Jasper Morrison and American manufacturer Emeco. ­The chair’s simplicity expresses Morrison’s concept of “Super Normal” design, whereby objects are significant because of their everyday usefulness. The chair’s sturdy stance is in line with Emeco’s history as a manufacturer that prides itself in...
Earth Optimism at Cooper Hewitt
A Smithsonian celebration of Earth Day will focus attention on effective solutions for saving the planet.
“Closing the Cycle”: Sustainable Fashion with Eileen Fisher and Patagonia
In this video, Eileen Fisher and Patagonia’s Nellie Cohen discuss how their organizations have innovated the reuse of textiles in the production process and transformed “closed cycle” design into a profitable business model.
Green Glossary: K for Kibiso
Kibiso is a Japanese word referring to a type of silk waste.
Scraps: Resource List
Online resources on sustainable textiles and fashion.