Tonight at Salone Del Mobile in Milan, Rossana Orlandi will present the first edition of the RO Plastics Prize. Here’s what you need to know.
Interior design guru and iconic curator Rossana Orlandi is known for spotting up-and-coming design talent, and tonight she will recognise four emerging designers for their design innovation. During Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan – one of the world’s most influential furniture fairs – Orlandi will present the first edition of the RO Plastic Prize – an award that inspires the design community to think differently about how our things are made, and challenges the designers to create products or textiles using recycled plastic, which can also be recycled again.
The Ro Plastic Prize forms part of Rossana Orlandi’s Guiltless Plastic initiative, which was launched last year. Since it was invented in the late 1800s, over 8 billion metric tonnes of plastic has been produced globally, and more than 50% of that has been discarded or incinerated. This number is constantly growing: over 322 million metric tonnes is produced each year, and 8 million metric tonnes end up in our oceans, threatening the health of marine ecosystems and sealife.
“Plastic has become a horrible product, something that people hate,” Orlandi told Dezeen as she launched the initiative during the 2018 edition of Salone Del Mobile. “But at the same time it’s super interesting because if you recycle, you can do amazing things with it, from industrial pieces to art pieces. There are immense possibilities.”
This year’s launch of the Ro Plastic Prize aims to unite the design community in the challenge to move beyond plastic pollution as we know it today and to promote the next generation of design.
“Re-using, recycling and reinventing are the challenges that this prize wishes to bring to the global design community. When transformed, plastic can become a resource with vast possibilities and potentials,” reads the statement on the Guiltless Plastic website.
All the project entries have been judged on their functionality, form, innovation, and environmental impactby a panel of international experts, including Aquafil CEO Giulio Bonazzi, who knows all about the potential of plastic waste as the producer of ECONYL® regenerated nylon yarn made of recycled ocean plastic.
The selected finalists will be presented at Rossana Orlandi Gallery this evening, withfour winners anounced across four categories: Design Process supported by Rossana Orlandi; Home Textiles, supported by Econyl by Aquafil; Packaging Solutions, supported by The Bicester Village Shopping Collection by Value Retail; and Conscious Innovation Projects, supported by illy. Each winner will recieve a prize of €10,000.
Follow @ECONYLbrand on Instagram tonight as Livia Firth reports live from the event as the winners are announced!
“I will report from #salonedelmobile2019 on the amazing challenge set by @rossana_orlandi to emerging designers to work with #recycledplastic after spending the day at the #wool conference and talking about the emergency of plastic pollution and synthetic fibres @ecoage I am excited to work with such an innovative company like Aquafil on solutions and the way forward,” says Livia.