The practice of planned obsolescence of consumer products includes Apple computers, as you’ll see if you watch the whole film. As a designer who attempts to make things that last, both in their material content and workmanship, the planned failure of other design objects is a slap in the face.

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Seeing the above graphic on Facebook recently (source wasn’t credited) reignited my longstanding frustration over our global failure to switch (back) to hemp as a major source for textiles, paper and food.

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I have nothing to add to 1000 Words: A Manifesto for Sustainability in Design by designer Allan Chochinov. To preface his manifesto Chochinov writes:

I don’t like the word manifesto.

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This is a Japanese tradition we desperately need to adopt in North America – re-using textiles to wrap presents. It’s an art form, but it’s worth learning because it dispenses with all the annoying and wasteful tape and paper and ribbon, it’s a fun skill to learn (for kids too), and it’s an educational conversation piece – you might have to explain to the recipient what it is, but that’s probably worthwhile.

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The post Furoshiki – Wrap holiday presents in the green, Japanese style appeared first on Ouno Design.

This thing, known as McBarge by Vancouverites, is the hulking remains of a floating McDonalds. It was custom-built for our Expo ’86 World’s Fair and then carelessly left rusting in the harbour for 23 years as some sort of ghost ship. 

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The “What’s In and What’s Out in 2009” lists are starting to appear. Not to be too protestant about it, since environmentalism in its more puritanical moment can make you want to stab yourself in the eye with a fork—a plastic fork—but these lists can get anxiety-provoking.

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