The Designers Accord

Founded by Valerie Casey, The Designers Accord is a new initiative to get designers to adopt a sustainability commitment. It is a coalition of design and innovation firms focused on working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

This initiative has been adopted by several firms world wide and keeps spreading. As opposed to just a word commitment, The Designers Accord will annually audit certain points in which the firms agree, in order to create positive impact.

I encourage all designers to adopt this philosophy, for moral and ethical reasons, more than just as a trend.

Pirwi - Sustainable Furniture With Style!

Pirwi is a Mexico City-based furniture company that operates under sustainable practices. Designer Emiliano Godoy, who has been working in sustainable design for several years, is in charge of the creative direction of the company. Pirwi’s catalog showcases stylish and contemporary pieces that are not only green, but that also offer an interesting aesthetic proposal.
Besides the creation of environmentally compatible products, Pirwi utilizes socially fare labor practices setting itself at the forefront of the sustainable furniture industry.

TX Active: Concrete Material With a Cause

In 2006 the Italian company Italicemente introduced a concrete that actually filters the air for CO2. The process is called photocatalysis: a titanium dioxide coating applied to the cement surface is triggered by UV rays to initiate a chemical reaction which absorbs air pollutants. An additional benefit, and the original reason it was developed, TX Active also prevents the build-up of organic and inorganic pollutants on surfaces, helping to improve a building’s appearance over time.

In a large city such as Milan, researchers have calculated – on the basis of test results – that covering 15% of visible urban surfaces with products containing TX Active® would enable a reduction in pollution of approximately 50%.

What we haven’t seen is any TX active in the United States. If anyone knows of its application outside of Europe, please add to the comments.

John Thackara and Friends on Sustainability

Audio bytes from John’s panel during the recent InterSections Conference at Northumbria University in the UK.

Listen

“John will argue that 80 percent of the environmental impact of the products and buildings is determined at the design stage; and the ways we have designed the world force most people to waste stupendous quantities of matter and energy. But for John, playing the blame game is pointless, the best way to redeem ourselves is to become part of the solution.”

(headshot by ILVIO GALLO)

MUJI, Mass Customization and DIY

The MUJI department store in Kyoto, Japan, illustrates how others interpret the reusable bag outside the United States. In this case MUJI offers the bag, a set of stamps, ink pad, and in-store work area; the rest is up to you. Customers carefully consider their stamps, a message to print (some made words or phrases, others used type as image), and the placement on their bag. The result? A typically bland MUJI object becomes a fashionable, one-of-a-kind bag unique to the invidiual carrying it around.

Please let us know if they have this same product in the upcoming New York City MUJI store.

Update: Core77 coverage of MUJI opening