A slowLab blog to enable Slow dialogues on the occasion of Platform21=Repairing in Amsterdam (NL).

Here we address how Slow Design can help re-imagine consumption behaviors, social collaboration scenarios, and systemic transitions to more sustainable futures.

Use this blog to contribute YOUR Slow Repair ideas and questions. They will be posted into the Platform21 exhibition space in Amsterdam through 30 August 2009.


Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Ann Thorpe's 'Low Product' scenario

Ann Thorpe, author of 'The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability' has posted an interesting article on Core77 about design's role in shifting consumption behaviours.

She states, "The challenge may well be in overcoming the myth that economic growth represents some sort of natural order. In fact it arises not from natural order but rather from years of political and economic decision making that prioritize economic growth."

"Society has implicitly accepted the idea that continuous increases in consumption are equal to continuous increases in wellbeing. But evidence from across cultures, age groups and income groups shows that this equation does not compute. Rather, after a person reaches a relatively low level (by Western standards) of material wealth, as corny as it may sound, their happiness hinges on inner growth, through the quality of their personal relationships, sense of self, and participation in the community."

"If we're serious about finding alternatives to consumerism, to shopping and acquiring positional goods, then we need civic places that catalyze these alternatives."

Read the whole article here >


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