Design for a Living World

Book excerpt: Ten prominent designers create objects using only sustainably grown and harvested materials Design for a Living World was developed by The Nature Conservancy, one of the world's leading conservation organizations, in order to raise global awareness about the impact and promise of sustainable sourcing. Ten prominent designers, including Kate Spade, Issac Mizrahi, Yves Béhar, Hella Jongerius and Ted Muehling were invited to create objects using only sustainably grown and harvested materials from some of the world's most beautiful and ecologically precarious places. Each of these landscapes supports its own distinct ecosystem and provides crucial livelihoods to local communities; each one is threatened by the effects of climate change and global economics--deforestation, overdevelopment and other destructive forces. Design for a Living World illuminates the complexity and vitality of raw materials at their source, including the people and cultures that actually produce them. The above designers were selected for their willingness to experiment and for their record of active engagement with issues of sustainability and social justice. In addition to presenting the designers' sketches, models and finished objects, Design for a Living World features original photographs by award-winning photojournalist Ami Vitale, who traveled around the world to document the many landscapes explored in this volume.