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German Design Graduates

(Archive) Toxic Legacies

Filtering the truth

This project was part of DDW 2023
Posters for the campaign re:cig — © Leila Wallisser

Toxic Legacies is a design project that delves into the world of recycling, challenging conventional notions and shedding light on how the concept of recycling can tend to justify the production of waste in a consumer-based system.

Part 1: Material Tests

With the help of discarded cigarette butts, Toxic Legacies starts with a series of material tests that show the aesthetic and seductive qualities in the small waste items that otherwise pose a significant environmental threat – testing how best to transform their negative connotations into something visually captivating.

Part 2: Campaign "re:cig"

By then reshaping / repurposing these discarded items into a series of useless products, the accompanying campaign re:cig presents a series of untouchable soaps, unwearable yarns and unburnable candles. Each product promotes itself to be recycled to a minimal percentage, bringing to light the irony of some of these sustainability claims. Slogans such as “from waste to waste” and “freeing you of guilt” encapsulate this essence and serve as a reminder that recycling alone is not enough. By embracing the irony of repurposing waste into more waste, Toxic Legacies provokes thought about the need for genuine sustainability efforts and questions if we even really need some of these materials it in the first place.

Products for the campaign re:cig — © Leila Wallisser

Publication: Toxic Legacies — © Leila Wallisser

Soaps filled with discarded cigarette butts — © Leila Wallisser

Material tests with discarded cigarette butts — © Leila Wallisser

Andere deelnemers

German Design Graduates

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Andere deelnemers

German Design Graduates