The Eco-Design Handbook: A Complete Sourcebook for the Home and Office. . - Consumer Ecology - book - book review

Architectural Review, The, June, 2002 by Adam Voelcker

By Alastair Fuad-Luke. London: Thames and Hudson. 2002. [pounds sterling]16.95

This seductive little book advertises itself as 'a complete guide to beautifully conceived, ecologically sensitive and consumer-friendly fumiture and objects for everyday use'. It covers over 500 products and 175 materials, and includes domestic furniture, lighting, electrical appliances, clothing, textiles, transport, buildings and building materials, DIY and a good deal of miscellanea. Most items are accompanied by a small colour photograph and a brief description, and these are cross-referenced to a full reference section for information about designers, suppliers, green organizations, further reading and so on.

An alternative sub-title might be 'How to continue being a consumer without feeling too guilty about it'. The book begins with a very sensible introduction which stresses the importance of protecting the environment, and the vital role design and designers play in this. But at another level, there is a deep irony in this book which is encapsulated in the way it moves from this well-intentioned introduction to a lengthy first section on chairs -- chairs of polypropylene, waste wood, metal, expanded polystyrene, paper, rubber, plant waste, mahogany (from sustainably managed forest, of course), wicker, glass, felt, aramide fibre braid ... No doubt, all these chairs have impeccable green credentials and furniture designers nowadays put the environment high on their agendas -- but do we need all these bloody chairs? Surely that's the question. In fact, do we need even half of the nice-looking gadgets in this book? There is something fundamentally flawed, oxymoronic one might say, when consumerism is linked with s ustainability. If we want to be ecologically responsible, then we must consume less of everything. If we go round picking out items which are well designed and have green labels on them, but without questioning whether we really need them, we are simply deluding ourselves.