Eco-Friendly & Practical

By Holly Peterson

There are some things in life that you gotta fix before they’re broke – especially when you know it’s just a matter of time. In case you haven’t noticed, the planet happens to be one of those things. So, to get the ball rolling, the Nature Conservancy asked 10 noted industrial designers (including Izaac Mizrahi and Kate Spade) to turn 10 unconventional, eco-friendly materials into 10 practical objects. The result: vegetable ivory jewelry, plywood furniture, salmon leather dresses and shoes, chicle latex vases, and many other creations that urge us to reconsider where our everyday objects come from, what they are made of, and how they impact the earth. See the objects in the "Design for a Living World" exhibit, currently at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, before they embark on a national tour in January.

For more info, just go to cooperhewitt.org