London Design Festival begins

London Design Festival has started, and it really is a dream event for ethical design lovers, with products, exhibitions and workshops all available. Here’s our pick…

From Now To Eternity exhibition (Sept 19 – Oct 19)
Plastic is with us virtually from now to eternity: impervious to bacteria, acid, salt, rust, breakage and, in some cases, able to withstand heat, plastic is something of a miracle substance. One hundred years ago, when it was first invented, no one could have anticipated that plastic would present one of our biggest recycling challenges.

Pioneering arts consultancy Arts Co is commissioning ten leading contemporary designers and design collectives to celebrate plastic through their work and look at ways to re-think our growing mountains of discarded plastic. The participating designers will show how plastic’s versatility – transparent or opaque, hard or pliant, able to take on a myriad of colours and forms – can serve their creativity. Location and opening times

Alternative Sitting show (Sept 13-23)
During the London Design Festival, Colin Firth’s Chiswick-based eco store, Eco, will be hosting ‘Alternative Sitting’, an exhibition with installations by established and up-and-coming designers including Pli Design, Reestore, Viable London, Adam Rowe, Osian Batyka-Williams, Farm Design, Ryan Frank plus others.

From a sofa made from a bath tub or a children’s chair made from a shopping basket to a chair made from recycled computer consoles, all products are beautifully designed and made from recycled or eco materials. And yes, that’s the Colin Firth, in partnership with his wife Livia. Location and opening times
Visit Eco

LIGHTEN UP (Sept 18-21
Laying bare the inspiration, development and processes behind diverse lighting products, LIGHTEN UP, created by sustainable design innovators [re]design, gives an inside view of thought and practice at the forefront of green design.

LIGHTEN UP looks beyond the bulb to explore an array of sustainable lighting strategies – including energy-efficient technology and design and sustainably sourced and recycled materials.

LIGHTEN UP will showcase the UK’s most innovative sustainable lighting design, explore the stories behind the products and give you the lowdown on lighting and energy consumption. Location and opening times

Greengaged (Sept 15-23)
A full week of workshops, debates, exhibitions, seminars and masterclasses on the topic of sustainable design, hosted by the Design Council. It’s a chance to get close to some of the important thinkers, leaders and designers in the field of ethical fashion and product design and even tell them what you want. Fascinating for real enthusiasts.
For more information visit greengaged.com