This week in PostMag: upcycled eggshells and eco-friendly practices

In this day and age, doing a sustainability issue is treacherous territory. I’ll be honest, we had fierce debates in our editorial meetings. Should we? Shouldn’t we? There were arguments for both sides. So much is greenwashed, all marketing and no substance. The word itself has been co-opted by every brand imaginable – and even if you try to sidestep it and approach the subject with more nuance as a business, you can’t because SEO.

And yet, writing off any and all attempts at lessening our impact on the planet feels equally flawed. If upcycled plastic furniture or a crushed eggshell lamp is the trigger that makes someone pause on the treadmill of eco-destruction and question their choices, then that seems far better than the alternative.

Are we going to design, invent or buy our way out of the climate crisis, overconsumption and a dependence on fossil fuels? No, of course not. These are problems that require coordinated, policy-level solutions and changing the greater systems in which we live. Is there the risk of patting ourselves on the back and saying, “job well done, I’ve done my part,” for buying a sofa from a B Corp certified brand that you don’t actually need? Certainly.

But part of life is understanding that we live in contradictions – and that’s OK. Genevieve Chew of Hong Kong design firm Editecture teases this out: she may bring her own bags to the market and have a whole business dedicated to greener practices, but still she loves clothes. Martin Williams hears how she and co-founder Jacqueline Chak went from running a fashion brand to building an eco-centred design practice and educational programme.

Chew and Chak are two of the not-so-few designers in Hong Kong who are taking steps to be greener in their approach. Milan Design Week earlier this month was a testament to that. Peta Tomlinson speaks with local designers whose pieces blending heritage with sustainability were shown in an exhibition presented in the Italian city by Hong Kong Interior Design Week.

Studio Yellowdot’s Dilara Kan and Bodin Hon – former Hong Kong residents now based in Istanbul – also exhibited in Milan. Since 2021, they have been working on upcycling eggshells into beautiful household objects and they chat with Vittoria Traverso about the painstaking process.