Love books that inspire me to think and re-think…

Not sure of the exact reason(s), but I became a bit of an environmentalist in recent years. Ever since I watched “The Story of Stuff“, I have this little guilty feeling whenever I buy or throw away stuff. Slowly, I also became a bit of an anti-consumerist, silently protesting against such proposals as to hand out cash coupons to stimulate the economy. Before I realize it, I became a bit of a pessimist towards the whole product design industry.

This book brought back hope upon my depressing views. Products don’t have to move linearly from the manufacturer to the consumer and to the landfill. If designed right, products can become nutrients and cycle back into the biosphere or “technosphere” when they are no longer needed – waste becomes food. Think cherry blossoms!

Is this really possible in real-life products designed in a world so obsessed with GDP growth?