Single Use Plastic & Modest Consumer Goods
While sustainability and circular design remain the prominent buzz words of this developing century, the continuing imbalance of accommodating both the manufacture of modest, well-made consumer goods and the conservation of our natural resources is proving to be ever challenging.
Sungai Design, and their sister company Sungai Watch, both based in Bali of Indonesia, are one such (non-profit) organisation who have risen to this challenge, inspiring a new wave of consciously sourced and considerately constructed products.
Bali's Single Use Plastic Packaging. The Reality
Now, we might covert the idyllic, nomadic beauty of Bali laid out in oh' so many Instagram squares and tourist blogs, but in reality, the dainty island has been overwhelmed by plastic waste, produced by tourism, single use packaging and unfortunate tidal pollution from the neighbouring islands.
Sungai Watch, established in 2020, exists to collect and recycle as much of this waste as possible through the use of floating barriers that harvest underwater debris throughout Bali’s rivers, halting it from entering the oceans.
Sungai Design, recently launched, clean and engineer waste plastic bags into a line of contemporary lounge chairs. The Ombak chairs, each made from two thousand recycled plastic bags, are available in various shapes and colours, account for roughly 30 kilograms of recycled materials.
Not dissimilar in structure to Danish mid-century maestro, Hans Wegner’s laid back C25 chair, the nature of the Ombak shares an interest in classic design, amongst slow lived, conscious choices that ease the consumer’s mind. A guilt free purchase that we hope to see inspire the next generation of designers and manufacturers alike.