Something many people said behind shielded hands in Milan this year was that design, despite good intentions, was still not addressing eco-awareness to the extent that it should be. Naming no names of course, but big, expensive, ostentatious design still attracts the most attention and hosting a green-themed show can consequently be a bit of a risk.
Hence it’s the braver brands leading the way and Droog is to be applauded for its show this year, ‘A Touch of Green’, which bucked the trend and hosted a very thought-provoking and honest exhibition showing how small changes can have big ends in design. ‘We all know that sustainability is a complex issue and to do the right on one hand often means harmful consequences on the other,’ say Droog ‘the intention to limit waste is at least one step in the right direction.’
Our favourite pieces were Minale-Maeda’s low-fire point porcelain, Tejo Remy's reappropriated drawer series, Chest of Drawers, Martino d’Esposito’s table, which comes with a contract for the purchaser to sign saying they won’t even try to get rid of it and Christien Meindertsma’s knitting work, the intention being to show that industrial production doesn’t preclude good handicraft. Just thinking about production methods and holding onto our design pieces for longer (not subscribing to the disposability of mass-manufacturing) is often the best way to make something of a difference.
And this was the sentiment at the heart of their eclectic product hoard. Whilst much of the work didn’t instantly look ‘green’, energy-saving production methods and clever concepts served to reduce carbon emissions one way or another. Interestingly, many of the pieces carried eco clout purely because of the context in which they were exhibited, perhaps implying there’s plenty of design doing a good job at being green without making a song and dance about it.
