Plastic: Remaking Our World

Plastic has shaped our daily lives like no other material. Initially associated with convenience, progress and even revolution, plastic today seems to have lost its utopian appeal.

Plastic is everywhere, but it is most prominent as waste and as a major factor in the global environmental crisis. This book examines the success story of plastics in the twentieth century and at the same time presents different discourses on how we need to deal with the global plastic waste crisis and find solutions that will lead us towards a truly circular plastics economy.

Mark Miodownik, Susan Freinkel and Nanjala Nyabola each contribute an article that sheds light on the history of plastics from 1850 to the present. A material-rich visual chronology shows how consumers’ perception of plastics has changed over the decades. Brief descriptions of 40 objects selected from renowned collections examine the importance of plastic in material culture. Reprints of key texts on the history of plastics, from Alexander Parkes (1865) to Max Liboiron (2018), provide a context in the history of ideas. The book reflects the current state of discourse and research on plastics through numerous individual interviews and panel discussions with designers, industry representatives, researchers and environmental activists. These talks are based on comprehensive data visualizations on plastic production, consumption and recycling.

With contributions by Susan Freinkel, Mark Miodownik and Nanjala Nyabola; interviews with Jane Atfield, Diana Cohen, John McGeehan, Klarenbeek & Dros, The Shellworks and others.

• Softcover, embossed with flaps
• 19.5 x 26.5 cm, 0.9 kg
• 256 pages, ca. 200 images

Language: English