Objectified (2009)

Alice Rawsthorn - Design Editor, International Herald Tribune : Arguably, the biggest single challenge facing every area of design right now is sustainability. It's no longer possible for designers to ignore the implications of continuing to produce more and more new stuff that sometimes we need and sometimes we don't need. Designers spend most of their time designing products and services for the 10% of the world's population that already own too much when 90% don't even have basic products and services to lead a subsistent life. Though a lot of designers believe emotionally and intellectually in sustainability, they and the manufacturers they work for are finding it very, very difficult to come to terms with. Because sustainability isn't just a sort of pretty, glamorous process of using recycled materials to design something that may or may not come in the color green. It's about redesigning every single aspect, from sourcing materials to designing to production to shipping and then eventually designing a way that those products can be disposed of responsibly. That's a mammoth task, so it's no wonder that designers and manufacturers are finding it so difficult.

Alice Rawsthorn: Self - Design Editor, International Herald Tribune