Innovative material, sustainable design
Marieke van Gasteren, owner of Plan M Concept, speaks to two producers of innovative materials and discusses sustainable product design and its possible application in pet products.
Responsible consumers
Nature is still strongly represented in this year’s trends. Cities keep growing; people live in smaller homes and closer together. We spend more and more time on screens. As a result, our longing for nature is growing and if we do not have nature within reach, we bring it inside. We know that we cannot continue to deplete the earth’s resources forever and we increasingly believe in reusing products – vintage clothing and furniture, for example – and in up-cycling. There is also more possible in the area of recycling. Technological progress has led to materials being made from alternative sources such as seaweed or compost. What’s more, waste such as plastic from the ocean, bottles or textiles can now be recycled into even better materials.
Responsible consumers want to know the origin of the products they buy. This is reflected in the fashion and design worlds, in which honesty and transparency are reflected in the use of raw, imperfect materials in which we can recognize the original source. We are also seeing a lot of transparent packaging, which allows us to see the contents. The individual history of products is gaining in value and there is a higher demand for personalized products.