The realities of climate change have driven another big year in material innovation in 2024. Here are 10 of the best solutions that have put a promising spin on cement, plastic, fur, linoleum, or even introduced something new. More
Textile brand Kvadrat has worked with designer Teruhiro Yanagihara to launch its first recycled polyester textile made of waste fabric instead of the usual plastic bottles. More
Promotion: US-based fabrics brand Pallas Textiles has released a series of textiles for interior design applications that utilise recycled plastic recovered from the ocean and landfills. More
Dezeen Showroom: global materials brand The Good Plastic Company aimed to make recycled plastic lustrous and elegant with its Polygood Translucent panel collection, made from old CD cases. More
Winding pathways and thatched roofs made of recycled plastic are among the features at the Kona Village resort in Hawaii, which Walker Warner Architects designed to replace a 1960s hotel destroyed by a tsunami. More
Lumpy recycled plastic furniture and circular skylights characterise this sunken London house, which designer James Shaw concealed on a 60-square-metre plot for himself and his family. More
Promotion: Welsh brand Smile Plastics' products promote the "imaginative, repetitive reuse" of plastic in a bid to mitigate its environmental impact. More
Promotion: plastic can remain a useful material long into the future with a thoughtful approach, argues Smile Plastics co-founder Rosalie McMillan. More
Design studio Space Available has transformed a former warehouse in Bali into a workshop and office space featuring a mezzanine clad in offcuts from its plastic recycling projects. More
Electronics accessory brand Casetify has launched a series of public art installations in five cities around the world using recycled phone cases as the key material. More
Kartell has collaborated with toymaker Mattel to transform five of its chairs into two hot-pink versions, one to fit real people and one for Barbies, which were shown at Milan design week. More
With Earth Day 2024 and an increasing number of environmental campaigners calling for an end to plastics, is time finally up for the 20th century's miracle material? Rima Sabina Aouf finds out if we can – and should – abolish plastic. More
Indonesian non-profit Sungai Watch has unveiled the debut furniture launch from its design studio Sungai Design, aimed at creating useful products from the mountains of plastic waste that it fishes from Bali's rivers every day. More
British designer James Shaw has renovated a shop for fashion brand Camper on London's Regent Street, which features a giant foot-shaped sculpture that functions as a till and a bench for trying on shoes. More
Swiss furniture brand Vitra will prioritise reducing the environmental impact of its existing lines through material innovation, CEO Nora Fehlbaum tells Dezeen in this interview. More
Local studio Bolsón has refabricated low-density plastic used in banana production to create interior cladding and furniture for Mooni in Mexico City during the city's art week. More
Packaging designs aimed at boosting recycling rates and reducing the prevalence of single-use plastics are destined to fail unless they help to change people's behaviour, writes Matt Millington. More
Kvadrat CEO Anders Byriel discusses why the Danish textile producer is deliberately tackling sustainability "the hard way" in this exclusive interview. More
Dezeen Showroom: Australian design brand Derlot has released a new version of its Stump stool with a colourful terrazzo-like surface resulting from its recycled plastic materiality. More
Super Local has won the Dutch Design Award for best product of 2023 with a project that creates colourful souvenirs from trash that was carried out of the Himalayas by mountain trekkers. More