Costa Rica’s reputation for environmental protection doesn’t begin and end with ecotourism. In fact, the small nation has embraced green living, a fact evidenced in everyday life by biodegradable shopping bags, a strong public transit system, and a national goal to become the first carbon-neutral country in the world. Now, an exhibition at San José’s Museum of Contemporary Art and Design showcases several eco-friendly products designed and manufactured by Costa Rica’s own talent.

The exposition, entitled Costa Rica diseña, or Costa Rica design, was co-organized by the Unversidad Véritas, and showcases works by 42 different designers. A diverse range of products are on display, including toys, home accessories, jewelry, furniture, utensils, publications, and promotional posters. “This exposition is a representative review of what national designers are doing, thanks to their genius and creativity,” Óscar Pamio, museum curator, noted.

Among some of the more eco-friendly designs are children’s toys, made of branches, leaves, and logs that will biodegrade faster than plastic toys after being disposed of in Costa Rica Land fills, cloth shopping bags designed to look like traditional supermarket plastic bags, and sandals produced from wood, cork, and other environmentally-friendly materials. Marco Mora, a Costa Rican designer whose works are showcased, noted that all the products are “produced with an innovative design, [helpful] functions, and also made through processes and materials that do not damage the environment.”

In addition to being innovative, interesting products that can be used in everyday life, the artists and curators agree that each object captures some aspect of Costa Rican culture. “Either in the utilized materials or the creative inspiration, the object demonstrate that a local design character exists, [and that it] has international renown,” Mora further explained.

Dominique Ratton’s cloth shopping bag is the perfect example of the above, melding innovative design with common use. People, as a rule, prefer attractive things, and Ratton’s bag is just that: attractive cloth and colors are utilized to produce a bag of high quality and nostalgic value. “A pretty cloth bag reduces the use of plastic, which is a source of so much pollution,” Luis Fernando Quirós, museum curator, said.

Beatrice Cabada’s children’s toys, like Ratton’s cloth bag, are not only attractive and fun to look at, but speak to an everyday purpose with eco-friendly materials. Made from plants and trees found in any national forest, the toys are designed to engage children’s minds and inspire creativity through their design and materials. In addition, “these woods are made mostly from natural materials found in the forest like leaves, logs, and branches that break down easily and can be reused,” explained the curator.

Eco-friendly design marks the way of the future, when products will not be made simply to be environmentally-friendly, but rather eco-friendly materials will be used to serve needs. Indeed, the true mark of successful eco design is that no one knows it’s environmentally-friendly, and everyone enjoys the product for its beauty and use. Explore, investigate, and admire such designs at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, located in the old Fanal building, currently on display.

Photo courtesy of La Nacion.

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Filed under: Travel on August 21st, 2008