Cool Green Stuff: A Guide to Finding Great Recycled, Sustainable, Renewable Objects You Will Love

Compact in size, yet jam-packed with clear, colorful photos, this mini coffee table book is just the thing for you or your favorite eco-conscious consumer pals when you’re looking to save the Earth in style. Or at least raise awareness of the plight of the planet. Dave Evans, an award-winning Australian photographer, highlights practical, whimsical, and artistic objects, each made from recycled or eco-friendly materials put to innovative use. Ever seen a menorah crafted from galvanized steel plumbing pipes? A CD holder crafted from vintage vinyl LPs? We’re intrigued.

The collection is divided into sections like ‘fashion’, ‘house’, and ‘outside’, and the sheer variety of things created from materials that could have become trash or actually were reclaimed from the local dump is amazing. From ‘elephant poo poo paper’ (prettier than it sounds) to a ‘sun trap handbag’ crafted with a solar panel in the base that gently glows when opened, allowing you to find your keys at the very bottom, these objects are both usable and sustainable.

This book has an impressive range of objects that are often incredibly practical or else designed expressly to draw attention to the possibilities of product design in an enviro-friendly market. From furniture to housewares, wearable fashion to modes of transportation, the sheer scope of this project doesn’t fail to impress. Although the casual flipper-of-pages may notice a couple of sections where artists or producers are repeated in close proximity (at first I thought, why not give some press to additional manufacturers?), it makes sense that designers who are at the forefront of this movement are not focusing their efforts on a single product. No one paid to be a part of the collection; Evans has carefully selected those items which demonstrate commitment to the green consumer movement, as well as undeniable style.

Don’t miss the snazzy bottle openers made from recycled bike chains or the oddly mesmerizing ‘giggles bracelet’ created from the slightly creepy faces of discarded Barbie dolls. Possibly more disturbing is the 50 ml bottle of ‘Crude parfum’, which is not truly a perfume but a decorative flask in the style of today’s myriad celebrity fragrances, and filled literally with crude oil, drawing attention to the power of one of the most influential raw materials of our time.

Bonus: the web address for each artist or manufacturer is given on the same page with its description and photo, so the reader can follow up on those coasters made from recycled motherboard components—the only time when coffee is allowed near computer parts.

Rating: 8

—Lara Killian