Plastic: Remaking Our World

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Plastic: Remaking Our World
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Mateo Kries
Edited by Jochen Eisenbrand
Edited by Mea Hoffmann
Assisted by Johanna Agerman Ross
Assisted by Corinna Gardner
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:256
Dimensions(mm): Height 265,Width 195
Category/GenreFurniture design
ISBN/Barcode 9783945852477
ClassificationsDewey:745.2
Audience
General
Illustrations 200 Illustrations, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Vitra Design Museum
Imprint Vitra Design Museum
Publication Date 28 April 2022
Publication Country Germany

Description

Plastic has shaped our daily lives like no other material. Originally associated with convenience, progress, even revolution, today plastic seems to have lost its utopian appeal. Plastic is everywhere, yet most conspicuous as waste and as a key factor in the global environmental crisis. This book examines the success story of plastic in the twentieth century and at the same time presents the different discourses on how we should manage the waste the material produces and also find solutions that take into account its entire life cycle in the future. Mark Miodownik, Susan Freinkel, and Nanjala Nyabola each contribute an essay that sheds light on the history of plastics from 1850 to today. A material-rich visual chronology illustrates how consumers' perception of plastics has changed over the decades. Brief descriptions of a selection of 50 objects examine the importance of plastics for material culture. Reprints of fundamental texts about the history of plastics-for example by Alexander Parkes and Roland Barthes-provide a context from the history of ideas. The book reflects the current discourse and state of research on plastic with numerous individual interviews and panel discussions that were held with designers, representatives from industry, researchers, and environmental activists. Underpinning these conversations are comprehensive data visualizations on plastic production and consumption, recycling.