Recycling is not only one of the best ways to save the planet, it is also the easiest way to boost our sense of chic. According to top designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen green became the new black as he tackled the threat to the environment in his latest design project.
Demonstrating the benefits of recycling, style guru Llewelyn-Bowen is the first interior designer to lead the way in eco-friendly home furnishings taking his inspiration from metal drinks cans he designed a contemporary armchair masterpiece, The Can Can Chair, using nothing but recycled drinks cans he and his family had collected from around the house.
As a nation Britain produces enough rubbish to fill the Albert Hall every two hours. But experts have determined that 60% of everything we throw away could be recycled. The eight billion drinks cans alone that we consume each year, if recycled, would produce enough energy to light every household in Britain for a year.
Drinks cans have now established themselves as the new designer friendly material, especially as Zandra Rhodes has produced the worlds most expensive drinks can and Georgina Goodman created a beautiful pair of hand-crafted shoes from recycled drinks cans. On Laurence’s couture chair he commented, “I really enjoy working with new material so the idea of using recycled drinks cans to produce an elegant, yet flamboyant chair was a huge challenge for me”.
"Recycling is hugely important in this day and age and drinks cans are one of the most environmentally friendly types of packaging as each one is 100% recyclable. They can also be recycled infinitely so technically I could produce an entirely new piece of furniture for next season by melting down this chair! Bare metal is also a very interesting material to work with as it has a wonderful texture and is incredibly versatile and flexible - perfectly adaptable to the furniture making process."
The chair will be displayed at City Hall in London and is set to embark on a European tour portraying how design and looking after the environment can go hand in hand. The creation will be displayed at high profile locations including government buildings, galleries, hotels and shops before arriving back in the UK in the Autumn when it will be auctioned for charity.