PET bottles hark back to their glass bottle predecessors using traditional glass blowing techniques.
Plastic bottles have pretty nasty reputations for being bad for human health and the environment. Very few people are arguing that plastic bottles (and especially bottled water) are a good thing in the long run. Some companies, such as Israeli fashion label EcoGir, have tried to solve the plastic bottle problem by upcycling PET bottles into chic men’s suits. And now, Israeli designer Nitsan Debbi has tried to solve the aesthetic and environmental issues surrounding the ubiquitous plastic bottle by upcycling it into beautiful artwork using glass blowing techniques.
The technique, which harks back to the older form of glass bottles, transforms the plastic PET bottle into a floating, ethereal work of art to be admired (instead of an ugly object to be tossed out or hopefully recycled).
Debbi, who is currently an industrial design MA student at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, exhibited her glass-blown PET bottles at the Thinking Hands Exhibition at Milan Design Week this past April 2011. Her avant-garde and eco-friendly design was in the good company of other green designs there, such as plastic bag shoes (seen above), vegetable peel jewelry, and citrus peel ceramics.
“The philosophical background of the theme of the exhibition ‘Thinking Hands’,” according to exhibition organizer Ezri Tarazi, “comes from the new integration and combination possibilities in design today, enabled by the post-industrial radical change.”
: Nitsan Debbi
: Fast Company Design
Read more about transforming plastic bottles and bags into art::
Plastic Bag Shoes and More Sustainable Design from Israel at Milan Design Week
Bag It Up: Inbal Limor Recycles Plastic Bags Into High Art
Think Again: How to Fuse Your Plastic Bags so You Can Make… Fill in the Blank
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
