ICIS News
January 2003
In this issue:
Introduction
Editorial
Designer Choices
- Information resources
- McDonough goes cradle to cradle
- Japan is taking the lead
- Are you being manipulated? Just say No
- Environmentally-friendly textiles
Consumer minds
- Information resources
- Green buying figures soar
- The meaning of hand-made goods
Latest case stories
- Art and design: high ethics and performance
- GM's Hy-wire: millennial car design
Feature
- 'Base' meeting at Christiania offsets EU summit in Copenhagen
Calendar
- Upcoming business seminars and Master Classes
Introduction
Our previous newsletter discussed sustainability from the angle of business and manufacturing. This time, we are looking at green consumerism and designer activism. We will highlight how market forces affect people and how people - in this case consumers and designers - can in turn affect the market. Our intention with this issue of ICISNeWS is to see how designer choices and consumer behaviour can affect our social and natural environment, and to inspire you with news about those who are taking the lead ...
Most of all, we want to wish you a happy, creative New Year!
Editorial
Dear Reader
May your New Year be one of fullfilment - more of an inner kind than a material kind!
I have to admit, however, that my wishes for ICIS are both material and nonmaterial. Material in that I wish for ICIS to generate the income and financial support we need in 2003 both to run our seminars and master classes - and also to develop the centre's activities as we set out in the original plan a year and a half ago!
The nonmaterial wish is that ICIS sticks to its core vision of developing the platform for knowledge-sharing and education for sustainable development both for creative professions and also for business in general - and that we this year focus even more sharply on this theme than in 2002, when we launched the centre and its programme.
The first steps towards making these wishes come true are that we in the next few months will focus on fundraising at the same time as launching next year's programme, which includes both seminars on sustainability for businesses and master classes for designers and architects. The ICIS website has been updated, and the new programme is there if you are interested in having a look. We are also including an overview of Business Seminars and Master Classes at the end of this ICIS NeWS.
The more I learn about sustainable development and find out who does what and where, the more I see that the proactive parties in sustainable development are companies - the business sector - also because they know that this is their future and that if they do not engage in sustainable development they will be out of business - perhaps not tomorrow but in five years' time.
It is encouraging to know that the impetus for sustainable development is there and is increasing - even though it's taking place for business reasons.
It is equally interesting to note that we designers are so slow in the uptake - the latest Creative Review, Jan 2003! (UK) sings the praises of design and advertising for cigarettes and alcohol, claiming that this is where real creativity is found! I wonder where this attitude fits in with social responsibility and the way the world is going. It almost seems as though the creative professions are oblivious to the state of the world locally and globally, have no idea what's going on - and don't care anyway. It does imply ignorance at an alarming level!
However, there are some redeeming activities happening within the world of design which are encouraging as the stories in this issue will tell you.
Being on the Board of Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) I had the opportunity to meet designers in Barcelona in December, who are actively engaged in social and humanitarian design.
The International Design Councils, ICSID, IFI and Icograda have created a joint initiative called Design for the World (DfW), based in Barcelona (http://www.designfortheworld.org). DfW ran a 2-day seminar/workshop on humanitarian design involving 60 designers from 15 countries and 3 NGOs: Medecins sans Frontieres, La Luna and Red Cross.
La Luna is specifically interesting for socially interested graphic designers as it is a volunteer group of graphic designers in Barcelona meeting once a week in the evenings giving their time free of charge to design for local humanitarian and environmental causes. This is an initiative which could be copied in all cities and be beneficial to both clients and designers!
DfW is working on world issues with designers. Until now their work has been focussed on refugees in Africa. They will soon also be working with La Luna on a local project in Barcelona. If you are interested in contributing or being a part of DfW please contact Dirk Bogaert, the Director of DfW.
The Board of Icograda has agreed to include sustainability as part of its activities, if its members approve. A questionnaire has been sent to the graphic design association members around the world and we are awaiting the responses with anticipation. I will let you know what the feedback is in the March issue of ICIS News!
Anyway, have a great year - and give some thought, time and talent to making our world a better place for all!
We would love to hear from you with comments, inputs or articles. Please write to: center@icisfoundation.org
Kind regards
Karen Blincoe
Director, ICIS
Designer Choices
Information resources
There is an increasing number of websites, centres and individual initiatives for sustainable product designers to pick from. More and more designers are conscious of their responsibility in bringing environmentally friendlier products on the market. There is a growing demand for designs which use recyclable materials, are easily recyclable, have long lifecycles, or fulfil other such sustainability requirements. Sustainable design is about weighing the ecological footprint of products at all stages of their development process and opting for the lowest possible environmental burden throughout the product life cycle. The role of designers is an important one: they can redefine the way products work and are manufactured - often in partnership with manufacturers.
The following tools can be helpful in this decision-making process.
Software:
Bees 3.0: This is a computer program for selecting cost-effective,
environmentally preferable building products. It is based on the standards
agreed to by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), industry
associations, and public-interest groups. Twelve environmental impacts are
included in each product's environmental performance score, and more than
200 building products are featured. Other improvements are updated lifecycle
assessment information and data from the US EPA.
Web: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov
Euroscan 3.0 is software for implementing ecodesign in product development.
Web: http://www.environmental-center.com/software/ecoscan/ecoscan.htm
More environmental software can be found at: http://www.environmentalexpert.com
You can check your ecological footprint online at: http://www.demesta.com
Other Resources:
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Center for Design has issued a must-read manual: Appliance Reuse and Recycling: A Product and Stewartship Guide. This deals with waste avoidance at the design stage, reuse options and recycling. http://www.cfd.rmit.edu.au
For information on green design and practices, as well as for networking with other sustainable-minded designers, the O2 site is a valuable resource: http://www.O2.org
There is a new Danish website on design and product development: http://www.ddc.dk/demi
A new Book, The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products by design activist Edwin Datschefski, provides valuable information on designing, making or selling sustainable consumer products. Published by RotoVision, ISBN 2-88046-545-1
McDonough goes cradle to cradle
William McDonough, known for building some of the most groundbreaking
commercial buildings in the world, is spearheading the concept of 'cradle to
cradle' design. The cradle to cradle concept denotes a production process
with a constantly renewing cycle - inspired from the lifecycles in nature -
using a combination of 'biological nutrients' (able to decompose into
compost) and 'technical nutrients' which are re-used in a closed-loop
industrial cycle. According to an article in Tomorrow magazine, McDonough's
bigger vision is to "redesign the world and all its products to be safe,
effective, enriching and delightful ... It's a philosophy he calls
'ecologically intelligent'." McDonough worked on the nine design principles
developed for the Hanover 2000 World's Fair, whose central idea is to "model
human industry on natural processes ... which stands in stark contrast with
the modern business principle of conquering, rather than copying, nature."
McDonough's building design is said to reduce absenteeism by being pleasant
to inhabit, and to cut power costs significantly, among other feats. He
received Tomorrow's 2002 leadership award for his achievements.
Source: Tomorrow Magazine, December 2002
Web: http://www.mcdonough.com
Book: Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough.
Japan is taking the lead
According to a report by the UK Centre for Sustainable Design (CSFD),
Japan's landfills will run out of space within the next five years. Seen in
this light, Japan is likely to be the single country in the world most
motivated to re-think their product design and manufacturing strategies. As
a matter of fact, Japan is envisioning a groundbreaking 'zero waste to
landfill' policy, by having products become endlessly recyclable. The
country has passed new laws on recycling and green purchasing to support the
large-scale technology program which has been launched. Now half of all home
appliances must be recycled, and this percentage is likely to be increased.
Fines for non-compliance are steep, and can reach crippling heights.
According to Martin Charter of the CSFD, eco-design - even in Japan - still
needs more focus on the creation stage itself instead of only looking at the
waste-end. Still, much is happening. Edie News quotes Clive Grinyer of the
UK Design Council as saying: "Sony plans to double its sales by 2010 without
increasing its environmental impact." The re-design of industrial products
is in full swing, and new, recyclable materials are being launched.
Source: Edie News http://www.edie.net
ICIS View: It looks like we may have much to learn from the Japanese, and exponentially so in the near future. Now that EU regulations for recycling and material use are tightening, and consumers are increasingly 'green-minded', the Japanese experience may give us valuable leads for our own evolution toward greener design and production. In other words, a good act to follow. Perhaps you could help the process by entering the competition Rethink Consumption, organised by Japan Design Foundation. http://www.jdf.or.jp/english/
Are you being manipulated? Just say No
Saga Furs, a coalition of Scandinavian mink and fox farmers, has launched a
campaign to make the use of their products more widespread among designers.
Saga produces 61 % of the world's mink and 66% of the world's fox fur. For
some time now, they have supplied furs to British designers, and to the
Royal College of Art and Central St. Martins - two of the top grooming
places for upcoming fashion designers - zeroing in on talented students
early in their career. Saga has also held workshops on the use of fur for
the likes of Dior, Versace and Max Mara. Saga's Director of Global
Communications, Tom Steifel-Kristensen, was quoted as saying that the
workshops were designed for "pushing the material into the 21st Century.2
Some of the hot designers, such as House of Jazz and Julien MacDonald, were
seen to use fur on the catwalks this year. Celebrities Madonna and Kate Moss
have donned fur as well. Fortunately, determined people like actress Sadie
Frost and designer Stella McCartney persist in carrying the anti-fur banner
- even though the Stella McCartney brand is owned by Gucci, she has banned
fur in her collections. As it turns out, it seems that the anti-fur stance
is close to the hearts of many Brits, and it has made its way into
government legislation: as of 2003, the farming of animals predominantly for
their fur will be illegal in the UK, a country where you're most likely to
find spray paint on your back if you walk out of your front door wrapped in
mink.
Source: The Independent, 21 November 2002
ICIS View: The Saga campaign is a sinister ploy - and offensive to any designer who wants his/her designs to be a reflection of creative inspiration, personal ethics and values instead of commercial exploitation. It reminds us to question the selection of materials used for clothing, and to make sure that it is a result of choice, not subtle coercion. We applaud people like Stella Mc Cartney and other designers who take a stand. Just say No.
Environmentally-friendly textiles
Danish textile manufacturer JOHA A/S has recently obtained the right to use
the EU environmental Flower label. They are producing an
environmentally-friendly children's clothing line, which is already on the
racks in the factory showroom. For JOHA, meeting the criteria for the Flower
label wasn't an easy task. It included checking up on the environmental
friendliness of all their own suppliers, and implementing a sustainability
strategy throughout the company - but through this process the company
realised that they could make important savings while at the same time
meeting their customers' growing demand for environmentally friendly
clothing. Today, they have cut down significantly on waste production (e.g.
fabric cuttings) and on the use of raw materials - their biggest
expenditure, on which they now save around DKK 500,000 a year.
Source: MiljøDanmark, October 2002.
Consumer Minds
Information resources
Consumers increasingly want to know what they are buying into. There is more and more information available to meet their needs:
http://www.ewindows.eu.org
This site facilitates consumer access to information on companies' products,
best practices, use of natural resources, and corporate environmental
performance.
http://www.responsibleshopper.org
is about finding out "the good, the bad and the ugly behind the products you
buy everyday" and about the companies which produce them.
US National Organic Program
The United States Department of Agriculture has launched the National Organic Program to oversee the certification of organic agriculture and livestock products. Urvashi Rangan, director of Consumers Union's eco-labels.org website, is quoted as saying: "Consumers can now be assured that when they see organic labels, they should mean the same thing consistently from product to product."
Note: www.eco-labels.org is described as "a web site that tracks the meaning
and credibility of environmental labels on food, wood, and personal hygiene
products.
Source: http://www.eco-labels.org
The EU Environmental Flower Label
The Flower is already in use for a wide range of products, and the list is
growing. Jørgen Dahl Toldsted, Criteria Director for the Danish
environmental label secretariat - which has taken over the chairmanship for
work on the EU's eco-label - said: "We will make sure that we maintain a
steady expansion of the flower to all kinds of products."
Source: MiljøDanmark, October 2002.
Web: http://www.ecolabel.dk
Green buying figures soar
In November 2002, The Financial Times published consumer spending figures
which showed a sharp increase in the amount of money spent on ecological
products. Last year, consumers spent £ 6 billion on green goods, 19% more
than the previous year. If one includes sales of ethical banking and
investment products, ethical goods and services represent £ 13.9 billion in
total value to the UK economy. For fair-trade products and ecological foods,
sales were up 33% in total.
Source: Financial Times, December 2002.
The meaning of hand-made goods
Craftsmanship is alive, and doing well. We may have thought that handmade products would slowly make way for the perfect slickness of globally produced goods S<caron> but the truth is that crafts are increasingly in demand on the international market. In an article in Resurgence magazine, David Boyle notes the "rediscovery of European crafts, because of the fact that every piece has an individual touch, in a world where everything else seems mass-produced."
Some of the traditional luxury crafts (crystals, champagne and porcelain for example) have always been status symbols - but there is also an upward trend for the sale of more humble crafts, and a revival of old-fashioned craft traditions, especially in Europe. According to a 2001 Business Week survey, crafts seemed to gain value where well-known mega brands (Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonald's) had lost value.
Boyle suggests that "it may be that people are beginning to wake up to the
manipulation they are subject to by the big brands - the kind of branded
forced feeding we get every time we turn on the TV, or wander into the
street."
Source: Resurgence, number 212
Latest case stories
Art and Design: High ethics and performance
Danish design and communication firm Superflex places art at the service of
grassroots initiatives, and combines it with technique and design. Instead
of creating passive art forms, it turns art into a useable, accessible and
democratic channel for development. The art object becomes a function of its
placement, its usage as a tool, and the possibilities which it needs to
offer as such. The artist and his work don't make a comment on society from
the sidelines, but become activists operating in the same forum as the
social and economic hierarchies which they expose. One example of art as a
tool is "Superflex Biogas2, an ecologically-based, artistically-shaped
biogas system. It is a user-friendly construction which recycles human and
animal waste to produce electricity for light, heating and cooking. This
system not only provides energy, but also improves the indoor climate in
houses, and reduces the rampant deforestation which affects many of the
countries in the South. One of the core considerations in designing the
biogas system was its cost to the end-user: it was not designed to maximise
profits for the producer, but to respect social-ethical parameters, placing
the purchase of the installation within the financial means of agricultural
families in the region. This is an atypical way of thinking within the usual
capitalistic frame of mind, which may lead the way to further development
along the same sustainable lines.
Web: http://www.superchannel.org
Source: RUM, October 2002.
ICIS View: A striking example of how artists and designers can contribute to
a more democratic and sustainable world environment, combining a commercial
venture with high ideals and ethics. Note: Superflex biogas fits the
demanding definition of appropriate technology set by DCAT (the Development
Center for Appropriate Technology), as it is "connected to the place,
resources, economics, culture and impacts of its use."
Web: http://www.dcat.net
GM's Hy-wire: millennial car design
The new General Motors prototype, "Hy-wire2, shows what can happen when
sustainable design gets the go-ahead in the car industry: it is powered by
fuel cells (of the kind used in the orbiting space station), and an
electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The only by-products found
are heat and H2O. All it needs are the fuel cells, an electric motor,
compressed hydrogen tanks and electronic devices: the steering and breaking
are fully electronic. There is no steering column, and basically no need for
all the space we usually reserve for the engine. Controls can be placed
anywhere in the car, even in the backseat, ensuring extra safety. The
chassis is made of aluminium, and the body is a fibreglass shell, which can
be exchanged with another one just like a cell-phone cover. Last but not
least - Hy-wire is said to handle like a high-performance sports car.
According to General Motors, the car could be ready for the road in 2010.
Source: Time Magazine, November 25, 2002
ICIS View: We suggest that the global impact of shifting to the Hy-wire be measured with the recently developed Earth Simulator in Yokohama, Japan. This machine, which can create a computer model of the whole Earth environment based on the input of climate data, is the most powerful supercomputer ever built. It was designed by a team of Japanese engineers and turned on for the first time in March 2002 (more on this in Time magazine, November 25, 2002). If we could enter new climate data based on the partial or total use of Hy-wire on the planet, we could see what the world might look like if such exhaust-free vehicles were a widespread reality. Wouldn't our lawmakers be tempted to support the purchase of these cars with, say, a "matching-fund" policy? If so, they've got our vote.
Feature
"Base" meeting at Christiania offsets EU summit in Copenhagen
Karen Svensson attended.
The community of Christiania in Denmark held what they called a "base" meeting during the December EU summit in the Danish capital. The base meeting aimed to reflect on the European Union's minority cultures, small and large economies, ecology, peace between nations and people, and the EU's lack of a spiritual dimension. It provided its very own blend of artistic, spiritual and philosophical items combined with talks on alternative economics, sustainable development and conflict resolution.
Christiania started over 25 years ago as a free zone within the Copenhagen city district, where people who did not fit into the mainstream gathered to build their own community. The result is an alternative village within the city, with a markedly different culture. The place is ruled by a different set of laws than the world around it, and inherently questions its surroundings. People experiment with various lifestyles and let their own, often eccentric personalities shine through. What may at first look like a rather haphazard collection of unfinished buildings and partly run-down warehouses turns into an interesting experimental zone to the trained eye. It takes a moment to understand the true essence of this place, but once you've got it, you see a new picture emerge - that of a unique settlement which challenges the established society around it by flaunting the direct expression of its inhabitants' aspirations, unaffected by the expectations of the outside world.
Seen in this light, the base meeting could take on a new meaning: if the challenges expressed by this gathering are some of the questions which crop up when human beings think entirely freely, what might the majority of Europeans really expect of the Union if they weren't conditioned by the current mainstream environment?
Calendar 2003 - ICIS Business Seminars (Bus) and Master Classes (MC)