Eco Design Award in Sapporo, Japan
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan 
on 09.19.08
The Eco Design Award in Sapporo, northern Japan, is a small but growing event inviting designers to think about materials and shapes, and come up with great design. Last year, the lovely handmade recycled wine bottle lamp shown here won the Grand Prix. Designed by Kusumoto Sukehiro at ni-un pet, a glass artist based in a very small wooden house, who has quite a following at least in Japan (and Finland). SECCO sells it online for 39,000 yen. English website here.
Read more about the Sapporo Eco Design Award below the fold.
(Photo from 空と猫と、海と犬と、風と馬と)
Sapporo Eco Design Award accepts entries until October 20, 2008. Application form here. Yes, it is only in Japanese at this point, they are aware of the fact that if they want the voice of Sapporo design to be heard around the world, they ought to do something about that! The theme this year is "Living, Alive" and they are looking for entries in three categories:
1) Eco design products (eco-friendly bags, clothing, accessories, etc)
2) Traditional Japanese furoshiki ecobags
3) Projects to make new eco products industrially by companies
Kanata Planning is the office of Eco Design Award in Sapporo, together with other local movers and shakers.
SECCO notes that all their products are made from post-consumer and industrial waste material. If you buy their products,
you are contributing to a new definition of quality which allows each product to be unique. Thank you for helping us to re-use valuable material that would otherwise end up in landfills. With your purchase decision you are actively reducing the burden on our environment.
Written by Martin Frid at greenz.jp
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- CDs + A Wine Bottle = Ultra Cool Candle Holder
- Surf Green with Eco-Friendly Surf Gear
- Funky Reused Bottle Cap Necklace
- Recycled Plastic Workout Gear is Great for Fitness, Great for Planet
- We Love Etsy for Unique, Handmade Gifts
- Dads Build an an Eco-friendly Mancave on Renovation Nation (Video)
As everyone reading this knows very well, energy is a critical environmental issue. Not only is it critical for climate change, but it's also the leading factor for many other major environmental issues.
How, then, can a lamp made of glass tinted to absorb most light get an "Eco Design Award"? Does Eco stand for Energy consumption obomination? This will keep 10 lbs of glass out of a landfill, but requires mining hundreds of pounds of coal to power a light bulb that does almost nothing to light a room. OK, some of the light gets out through the bottle necks, but look at how little that is.
If people doing eco designs and judges giving eco awards don't get it, what hope is there for humanity, or any other species?
Actually, I don't know which is scarier, an eco award going to this, or the fact that conservative operatives succeeded in implanting "obomination" into my vocabulary. Can I revise that to "Energy consumption overflow"?