Tag Archives: Art/Design
Top Ten Green News Stories of May 2011
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Liz Holland.
OG|10: Green News Monthly Roundup featuring the top ten green news stories from May 2011 as followed and covered by Opportunity Green.
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Cradle-to-Cradle Design: Top 5 Fashionable and Biodegradable Products
Posted on 24. May, 2011 by Christopher Bay.
In the never-ending household battle against clutter, “down-cycling” is commonplace and often seen as a do-good practice. Along with changing the way consumers view and use products, items with short usable lives must be redesigned to either last longer or be transformed into a cradle-to-cradle life cycle where waste = food.
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Opportunity Green at Dwell on Design
Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by BenjiRosen.
Dwell Magazine hosted its annual exposition, “Dwell on Design,” this past weekend at the LA Convention Center beginning on Friday, June 25th, and lasting through Sunday, June 27th. The coordinators at Dwell applied the same inventive approach they practice in their publication as they showcased one of the most dynamic and creative ideas in modern aesthetic and architecture. Although building and design were the centerpieces of this three-day event, Dwell-on-Design attendees (which included architects, professionals and environmental enthusiasts) were also exposed to countless innovative eco-products and a collection of captivating speakers.
Dwell focuses on modern architecture and design in their magazine, so it follows that development in building and design should be a focus of the exposition too. To the delight of the conference attendees, the Dwell team made sure to shy away from anything ordinary.
Opportunity Green Hosts Panel at Dwell on Design
The exhibition showcased furniture, building materials, outdoor accessories, and energy and resources that the general public has never seen before. And, in addition to “Asia Now” (which brought together the best contemporary design from Asia with an emphasis on saving energy) and “Modern Family Zone” (offering important lessons in improvement and sustainability for the whole family), “Dwell on Design” also had installations inside the convention center highlighting many unique home concepts.
The founder of ecofabulous and a good friend to Opportunity Green, Zem Joaquin, led the charge for innovative, energy-saving home ideas. Joaquin was the lead designer of the “Modern Living Showhouse,” assembled by Reclaimed Space in Austin, Texas, and built from 80-90% salvaged material. Merging style, function, and environmental ethos, the house was furnished by over twenty different eco-products. Ecofabulous advertised the showhouse project on their website, claiming the products utilized were “carefully selected for their superior sustainability standards and design aesthetic. From the lush living wall to the smart, energy-efficient kitchen and laundry appliances to the gorgeous vintage furniture from eBay.” To read Ecofabulous’s full narrative about the “Modern Living Showhouse,” view pictures, and learn about the show houses’ charity auctioning on eBay, visit here.
Actually, it seemed like Opportunity Green had members of our team all around the Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We shared a corner space with Vapur, who designed and is selling a reusable water bottle that can be folded, rolled, flattened and frozen. While Vapur’s founder, Jason Carignan, were very busy selling out of Vapur’s innovative product, they also gave testimony on the OG Conference to all our booth visitors.
Carignan also hosted a panel on product design innovation with Nicole Landers, an OG board member and the founder of the sustainability firm, eConnect Group, and Peter Falt, the Director of Strategic Partnering for BMW Design Works. Our own dear Karen Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Opportunity Green and friend to all, was slated to anchor this panel but unfortunately lost her voice and could not participate. Landers came in as a last minute, and remarkable replacement. When thinking about his experience this weekend, Carignan admitted he “was really inspired by all of the great questions Peter Falt and [he] got from the attendees during our panel on an Insiders’ Look at a New Era of Design. Many of entrepreneurs and design professionals seeking ways to ensure their business are as sustainable as their products. I’m glad we were able to offer some practical guidance to realizing their vision.”
In fact, Nicole did a fantastic job stressing how important partnerships are in innovation and sustainability. Especially in design technology products, partnerships between the designers and their business-partners are what drive new ideas for better sustainability.
Events like Dwell on Design highlight the idea of collaboration and cooperation – ideas that Opportunity Green continues to champion. When we asked Nicole Landers what she came away with after hosting the panel, she discussed this theme of inter-connectedness, reiterating how in any smart technologies, along with having an innovative workable “public relations” are the stimulating feature. It is what steers the “three-way triangle” of people, profit, and planet onto a sustainable course.
As we come away from the conference of inspired designers and business professionals, it seems even more apparent that in order to create and maintain a market that supports both environmental incentive as well as bottom line, we have to come together. Opportunity Green 2010 has been built directly around the idea that only through partnerships and relationships can we truly make a difference. Please join us, September 22-24th at LA Center Studios for Opportunity Green: INTER 2010
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The meaning of ‘green’ investigated through the lens of design trends- Part 2
Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by Wakako Takagi.
In this series of green design trends, I have investigated how sustainably-minded products are shifting the language of design. In this post, you will find the second half of the design trends:
MINIMIZE
FLAT
L(U)ST/L(A)ST
The case studies shown in this presentation are a mix of concept ideas and products that are already in the market. On each slide, you will find a selected design example, a key design attribute, explanation of why the key attribute matters in sustainable design practice and also how you can apply the inspiration from the design language to your projects.
If you are interested in checking out the part 1, you can find it here!
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Live Blogging OG09: When Sustainable Design and Business Converge
Posted on 07. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
These are styles from Lauren Pierce. One of the most inspirational stories I heard today was about Lauren Pierce, one of the lines carried at Barney’s. Lauren Pierce designs gorgeous, high-fashion clothing that would impress the most jaded fashionista. What sets it apart is that the textiles are hand-printed by a women’s cooperative in the Congo, thus creating income through traditional arts. In the ecofabulous lounge I discovered three other amazing eco designers not yet known to the world at large, currently represented by Vie Bungalow PR.
Zem Joaquin, founder of ecofabulous.com, reminds us that the most sustainable thing is to re-use. She’s partnering with E-Bay to promote awareness of the gems that can be found in vintage clothing. She then passes the mic to Julie Gilhart, Fashion Director for Barney’s, because what good is press without sales? Sustainable fashion isn’t exactly sustainable if it’s not being sold somewhere. Julie Gilhart has been dragging the world of high fashion into sustainability through her commitment as the buyer for the leading US retailer in designer fashion.
Julie’s sea change moment began when she discovered it costs $1million to produce a 20-minute fashion show. She thought about how many people could be fed for $1million. Then two more things happened- Al Gore’s film became a call to action, and Julie heard the Dali Lama speak. He said you should forgive, have compassion, create beauty, and preserve culture. She thought “I could do that in my job.” She went on to talk her CEO into doing a “green holiday” theme that year and has since continued to expand Barney’s commitment to what she calls simply “consciousness”- an awareness of what you’re buying, where it cam from, the history of it. Julie has worked with some of Barney’s top-selling designers to inspire them to develop sustainable pieces. Barney’s customers expect a high level of design, and within that constraint, Barney’s uses 3-tier pricing: In the casual price point she mentioned Loomstate (who also have a line at Target), for mid-level- Phillip Lim , and at the high-end- Stella McCartney. But these aren’t the only designers doing sustainability at Barney’s. Julie also found she needed to create energy around it. So she initiated denim and t-shirt recycling programs, among many other collaborations with the designers they carry.
“Our most important goal, widest reach, is to change perception, the way people think.” –Julie Gilhart, SVP & Fashion Director, Barney’s NY
Next, Yves Behar, founder offuseproject, shows a video of Mission One breaking the electric motorcycle land speed record- and describes the sound of it reaching top speed as the new sound of sexy. I wholeheartedly agree with that, although I do love the sound of my ICE Japanese Supersport. However, this may very well be the only panel ever to feature two of my greatest passions- fast motorcycles and high fashion. The Mission One is also featured in the Neiman Marcus catalog, so it’s not that much of a stretch.
Yves then shifts to an awesome video for PACT underwear, where a cute eco-conscious boy and girl in a drab office find their clothing fall away as they do small things to save the planet. Then they run off into a forest in their gorgeous Forest Ethics undies. It’s adorable. The WearPACT commercial was laugh out loud funny. Like an expert author, it guides the viewer, and is not heavy-handed, it’s entertaining. Showing people taking sustainable action – watering plants, cutting plastic – then running off together into the wilderness in their underwear. Visual language is perfect because everyone gets it. The ad suggests a venue for people to get back to our natures through nature.
Yves’ studio fuseproject works with a number of other innovative startups, including One Laptop Per Child, Y Water, and others committed to redefining their industries. In expressing the popularity of OLPC, Yves explained that the only program the incumbent and incoming presidents of Uruguay agree on is OLPC. Yves said he is going to work in the “golden years” of his career for the next 10-15 years to prove people wrong who say that green has to be expensive and ugly.
My question to Julie- How do you convince customers it’s worth paying a little more for eco fashion, since it does cost more to produce?
Julie: I tried, but found that consumers perceived it to be inferior, they expect it to cost less, even though it does cost more to produce. Consumers assumed they were going to have to sacrifice something for sustainability, as has been the problem with sustainability messaging in the past decade. Our customers didn’t understand that the quality of eco clothing is at least as good as anything else we offer. So I stopped talking about it. What we sell has to be a great design, and for us it’s actually better if we don’t push the sustainability message.
She went on to discuss how she’s working with the head of PPR to develop consciousness in his companies. PPR owns many of the greatest fashion brands- Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and Puma, to name a few. Even though it’s been under the radar, PPR has done some very conscious things, including producing the film Home. He cares about the environment. PPR owns a lot of businesses that have found the ability to save money through sustainability.
Next question: Did you come across designers that weren’t open to it?
Julie: We came across many, but found we cannot push them.
thanks to Gaia Dempsey for help in this article.
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Interview with David Martinon, French Consul General, Part 1
Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
David Martinon is the Consul General at the Los Angeles French Consulate. In this role, he is responsible for promoting French culture and arts, science, and business, as well as caring for French citizens in the US. Prior to joining the Los Angeles Consulate in 2008, Mr. Martinon was a spokesperson for the French President, before which he was chief of staff for President Sarkozy’s presidential campaign. And before that, he worked as a diplomatic advisor for four years. In this two-part interview we begin by discussing cultural sustainability, and France’s revolutionary attempts to redefine how we measure “success.”
OG: You do an amazing job of utilizing social media, much more than one would expect of a government agency. Your Twitter feed and your blog do an excellent job of promoting French culture in Los Angeles. So tell me, what are you looking forward to most about the conference?
David: Thank You, but it is more the work of Stéphanie Rainin. I wanted to attend Opportunity Green because I try to be aware of ideas that pop up here in California. I first met Karen Solomon when I invited her for the premiere of HOME, the film by French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand. We got on well, she’s a very interesting person. I like that you’re trying to promote not only awareness of environmental issues, but also to create new ideas on how to improve the situation. Before I came to California, I saw that there were great intellectual & technical revolutions in California, not only the ideology of May ’68, but also of course the environmental revolution going on today. Today’s ideas in California are the rest of the world’s ideas tomorrow.
OG: So it seems you work with two major industries- life sciences and entertainment. Can you tell me about some interesting projects in either of them?
David: In entertainment, for the past 13 years, we’ve put on a French film festival- City of Lights, City of Angels (CoLCoA) every spring. Also, this year we started OohLaL.A., a music festival featuring the most cutting-edge French musicians. The selection was made by Silvain Taillet, the art director of the very prestigious music school, Barclay. Both festivals are great successes, even with OohLaL.A. in its first year, we’ve had great partners and the seats were full every night. This is difficult, considering most of the artists are unknown in the US.
OG: It’s definitely hard to break into LA entertainment industry.
David: I think if we can’t be successful here in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, we better change the consul! We also try to bring American screenwriters to France, because we think that showing them the hidden faces of France inspires them. We want them to film in France, to take advantage of our beautiful scenery and great crews.
OG: Adam Werbach promotes the importance of cultural sustainability alongside environmental, social and economic sustainability, arguing that culture is too often ignored, particularly by multi-national corporations operating abroad. Let’s talk about how great the French are at preserving their cultural heritage.
David: On this topic, we French actually have a lot of contradictions. On the one hand, we’re extremely attached to our culture. For example, in Paris the Parisians go to the theater, to movies, and box office receipts are still very high, we maintain that a minimum of 50% of films are French, so 40% are American and 10% from the rest of the world. We also read a lot of books, publishing is still doing well. La rentrée literaire is always a interesting time. Roughly a third of the pages in French newsmagazines are dedicated to culture. It’s our pride. We will accept to be “poor” as long as we have culture.
However, on the other hand, we embrace foreign culture. We’re also interested in films from other countries. Even though few countries have national film industries, we welcome them in France. So we’re attached to global culture, and are very much in love with American products, the French love American blockbusters, American music, etc.
OG: Yet the French also do an excellent job of appropriating foreign cultural influences and making them their own, which to me is the crux of modern cultural evolution. For example, I’m a big fan of French mashups and French rap.
David: Ah, French rap…I’m a bit of an expert in French rap, the lyrics are much better. The arrangements as well.
OG: There is a real concern that the artisanal knowledge of the Haute Couture is not being passed on to a new generation of craftspeople. What is being done to keep the traditional arts alive in France?
David: It’s a huge topic- we have a tradition established for the past ten centuries of forming young apprentices in France. Of course there are some more popular fields, like cooking, fashion. Still in architecture and masonry, and all other fields we have what we call “The Tour de France for Apprentices.” Behind Jean Paul Gaultier, for example, you find old women with golden fingers who can do the very stylish parts of the clothes.
OG: Yes, but is it difficult finding young people who will replace them?
David: No, not as far as I can tell.
OG: Now, let’s get back to what you said earlier about accepting less money if that’s what it takes to enjoy a strong and vibrant culture. I am so happy to see that France is taking the lead on redefining GDP, something that has needed to happen for quite some time.
David: Many Americans question me about this, claiming it’s a way of breaking the tool to avoid measuring a bad situation. There will never be a good time to redefine GDP, you’ll always question the intention. But it needs to happen. Sarkozy, in the first weeks of his presidency, essentially said “If you destroy Earth, it can bring more wealth, but at the same time, it’s not improving global well-being.” And you know, one of the economists they’re working with on this is American, Joseph Stiglitz.
OG: That’s great! I’ve loved reading his books on globalization, and I recall discovering Redefining Progress in 2005 and wishing their ideas would break out of the Berkeley green ghetto. It seems the time has finally come when people recognize that money does not define us.
David: Yes, however, in the US, you have some wonderful legacies around quality of life as well, for example your National Parks tradition is something to truly be proud of.
OG: That it is! Stay tuned for part two tomorrow…
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Interview with OppGreen 2009 Speaker, Adam Lowry, Chief Greenskeeper of Method
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Adam Lowry (being throttled by Eric) is the Chief Greenskeeper and co-founder of method. He founded method in 2000 with Eric Ryan, because he was tired of writing white papers on climate change that had no impact on the general public’s behavior. He wanted to use his powers for good, and solve a gap in the market he saw because he could never find quality environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Adam and Eric sought to create cleaning products that don’t require a sacrifice-based positioning. Adam believes that people shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything to be green, particularly quality and design. He wanted to build a company that inspires people to live sustainably, rather than simply educating them, to create products that are high-quality and beautiful, that just so happen to be at the highest possible standard of sustainable design.
OG: It seems every week there’s a new eco cleaning brand on the shelf, and the DfE list of certified products is quite long. How stringent is it really? Do they require products contain NO chemicals of concern? Are there chemicals we should be concerned about that the EPA is permitting?
Adam: Dfe is a great starting point as it assesses the formulations of a product and deems whether they are compatible with program objectives. We’ve worked with the DfE program on a number of cleaning products and will continue to do so in the future. DfE is an industry standard, the one problem with standards is that a lot of people just try to meet the minimum and call it a day. You want to constantly improve, it’s not helpful to just hit the bar, you need to constantly strive to be more sustainable and more delightful. We’ll always be both C2C and DfE certified, and we’re constantly trying to evolve, to be even better.
OG: The Consumerist has a great story on microfiber cleaning cloths, how wonderfully effective they are, and how hard the US household chemicals industry tries to convince us that we need to kill germs, not just wipe them away. Method has a great line of dedicated microfiber cloths for various surfaces, positioned with relevant fluid products. Is the US finally getting it, or do we still need to be taught why microfiber is so great?
Adam: Microfiber is great, but the real issue is not so much about microfiber specifically, but how we manage infection within the home. Microfiber is just a tool. Unfortunately, with H1N1, we’re actually going in the wrong direction, and we’ve seen a big rise in disinfection products- a lot of toxic surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers with Triclosan. If you look at what the CDC and the scientific community have to say, a lot of studies show that just cleaning effectively is every bit as healthy as the “kill ‘em all” strategy. Germ control is best done without using toxic chemicals, as certain chemicals have all these harmful side effects, especially when mixed incorrectly with other products. Method never uses any of these chemicals. For example, with handwashing, if you just use hot water and regular soap, your hands are just as clean and you don’t have to use dangerous chemicals like Triclosan.
OG: Yes, I recall your Treehugger article on handwashing from a design perspective, it was great.
OG: So as a rapidly growing cleaning products company, what’s it like at this stage? Have your sales & marketing strategies had to change drastically as you’ve grown?
Adam: No, they haven’t changed at all. At method we sell a philosophy of living where you don’t have to sacrifice design or other sensibilities in order to be eco. The tactics we use to spread that philosophy- our people against dirty, social media (methodtweet and Adam on Twitter), etc. have always been the same. Creating products that are worth talking about- awesome products that people want to talk about, to spread the word in authentic way, that’s what we’re always about.
OG: I love it when companies listen to me on Twitter. I recently tweeted a complaint that my local grocery store seemed to carry less method than it had in the past (full disclosure, I’m a fan), and methodtweet was on it within hours. I’ve had this happen with other companies as well.
OG: In the 2008 Fox news story, you said “Green, cheap and high-performance are what you want, but there’s a rule of thumb that says you can only have two out of three.” (Like anything, really, we get what we pay for.) But the article goes on to say that your products are usually only 50 cents more than the competition. Yet your market share took a hit (according to this article) when Clorox GreenWorks came out. Are other forces at play here? Or are people really that cheap?
Adam: Part of it is how the larger companies control shelf space in our industry. But there are a lot of consumers who are really price sensitive. The big guys create a really cheap product, but spend a fortune on marketing, whereas we invest heavily in making the product experience as good as it can possibly be. We are committed to internalizing the environmental cost of our products, and others don’t, so method has to cost a little bit more.
OG: The article also mistakenly stated only one brand wasC2C certified, while method’s entire line is C2C, isn’t it?
Adam: We build the C2C methodology into all of our products. At the front end of creating any product, we work with the EPEA (led by Michael Braungart) and MBDC to assess all potential ingredients and to ensure we are using healthy, safe and environmentally-sensitive materials. At the back end, we look to certify every method product as C2C. However, with over 200 products in our portfolio, we focus the C2C certification process on where it will be the most impactful and where we can afford to do so.
OG: Actually, Method has surpassed Herman Miller on the C2C list, but Steelcase and their subsidiaries seem to have the top spot.
OG: What advice do you have for eco-entrepreneurs?
Adam: My advice to entrepreneurs is- it’s really important to make sure that what you’re doing is really compelling for reasons other than being green, it has to be great in its own right, and green has to be just another part of its quality. The whole idea of eco-entrepreneur should become the standard for entrepreneurship in general.
OG: people against dirty is a brilliant concept. But do you measure its impact? Say, how sales increase in regions where you have more people against dirty, or by working with retailers to track influence through coupons or anything?
Adam: No, it’s more qualitative than quantitative. People against dirty is about a lifestyle and a movement, where people don’t have to compromise, they can do things that are fun and inspiring. That creates a community, but measuring communities isn’t really that effective.
OG: Thanks so much for your time, Adam. I’m looking forward to hearing you talk about upcoming trends in green products.
Photo of Adam and Eric courtesy of Liz Haphalia for the Chronicle.
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Stuart Karten, Founder of Stuart Karten Designs, Discusses Designing For Sustainability
Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Stuart Karten Designs has been helping clients innovate and use design thinking since 1984. Their client list includes some of the top medical device and consumer electronics brands in the world.
OG: What are you looking forward to about the conference?
Stuart: Well, this is my first time going to Opportunity Green. I’m excited in general, and am looking forward to expressing SKD’s interest in sustainability and meeting like-minded potential clients.
OG: Were you at the Designer’s Accord Global Summit last weekend?
Stuart: No, I wasn’t there, but SKD has not only signed onto the Accord, we’ve also created an internal sub-committee to learn how we can improve our own business, not just our clients’, under the guidelines of the Designer’s Accord.
OG: Who does the bulk of your research on new eco materials? Do you use a service like Material Connexion?
Stuart: We are members of Material Connexion, but also have our own library of interesting and inspirational materials. The way we use it, it’s sort of a group grope, but some people in the studio are more tapped into materials research than others. Sustainability is one of many dimensions we use when categorizing the products in our library.
OG: What about research regarding long-term feasibility, particularly as it pertains to how the client intends to use a new material?
Stuart: Actually, the material is often not the biggest issue, often we find it’s more the manufacturing process that needs a sustainable design lens. For example, we design a lot of consumer electronics, and always try to make them easy to disassemble. That way, the people disassembling the products are less likely to be exposed to hazardous materials, and the recyclables are easier to extract.
OG: Is it difficult to get your clients to embrace sustainability?
Stuart: just like any client relationship, some are advocates, some need a little more convincing and teaching. So mainly, we’re trying to connect with clients that are already interested in sustainability. Still, it takes a lot of education and sales pitches. Many clients are so deeply committed to “business as usual” it’s hard to get them to change anything. But others are eager to innovate using sustainable principles.
For example, with this hard drive we did for Fabrik, we used a two pronged approach. They’re an example of a client who wanted to try something new. We developed one hard drive, the SimpleDrive, as sustainably as possible using their existing resources & methods. The other hard drive we did, the [re]drive Turbo, was designed to be as environmentally responsible as possible, even though it meant that Fabrik had to hunt down new suppliers and contractors.
OG: Tell me more about Bruce Sterling’s Internet of Things that you mention on your conversations page. He’s one of my favorite writers. How does his work influence your work?
Stuart: Our conversations series is designed to expose the studio and friends of the firm to new and interesting thought leaders, like an internal version of TED. It’s set up like a salon, with a speaker for about 40 minutes. Bruce talked about RFID a lot, and the potential it has. Later, we did some concept work for Johnson Controls. They wanted us to conceive futurist ways to deal with time empowerment in the car, among other things. So we came up with a way for your car to know your schedule, and give you reminders relevant to the car. For example, your car knows it’s Tuesday, so it must be soccer practice. The car knows whether or not the soccer gear is in the car (potentially through RFID) and reminds you to put it in if you forget.
OG: that’s also great for the environment, as it prevents people having to drive back home to get what they forgot.
Stuart: We also do a lot of design research, particularly regarding peoples needs and attitudes around sustainability. We’ve found that consumers are indeed willing to pay more for a sustainable product. We strove to discover at what point in the interaction with the product do people want to decide how much to pay, learning from what users do and don’t want.
OG: Thanks so much Stuart, I’m looking forward to seeing you at the conference.
