We don’t like to be reminded—but plastic was never meant to disappear. That was the point.

In 1957, DuPont advertised plastic as “the material of tomorrow.” One slogan even promised: "Better things for better living… through chemistry". The irony? Many of those “better things” are still with us. A sandwich bag that was dropped in the 1960s is almost certainly intact today—buried in a landfill, drifting at sea, or tucked inside a drawer with other synthetic relics.

Plastic is more than waste. It’s an archive. Of postwar optimism. Of the golden age of mass production. It wasn’t just a material; it was a mindset. It reshaped how we lived, stored, gifted, and consumed. In 1950, the world produced 2 million tonnes of it. Today, that figure exceeds 430 million tonnes annually. From cling film to furniture, from polyester jackets to party favors, plastic doesn’t fade—it remembers. It captures how we built convenience into permanence.

Designers like Charles and Ray Eames used molded polymers to democratize furniture through their Vitra chair. IKEA scaled that dream—introducing plastic into everyday objects, turning design into repeatable parts. Fast fashion wore it—spinning plastic into fabric, releasing new styles every week. Plastic let us chase a future that felt immediate, affordable, and unburdened by weight.

Even today’s bioplastics carry the same blueprint. Labeled bio-based, natural, or compostable, they speak in softer tones—but they, too, are built to preserve. Many require industrial composting to fully break down. They’re not simply alternatives; they’re echoes of our desire/habit to contain, protect, prolong.

Plastic isn’t the villain of this story. It’s the ghost in the room—quiet, persistent, familiar. A material that got to know us too well—until we began to build around it. It shaped not just objects, but instincts. And in its lighter, greener, so-called sustainable afterlife, we can still see the shape of the world we tried to make.

This means we’re still writing the story. Around the world, artists, designers, researchers, and communities are finding ways to rework this inheritance. Not all are perfect, and none erase the past—but together, they mark a shift: not away from plastic’s legacy, but into a more conscious conversation with it.

Estelle

PS. This edition only scratches the surface. Plastic touches everything—from production systems to climate impact, from design to social inequality. There's far more to uncover. But if you’re here—whether subscribed or just passing through—know that more is on the way.

Some numbers

Read between the lines

	The Myth of the Garbage Patch — The New Inquiry, 2016 Unpacking the media-fueled image of a floating trash island, this piece reframes plastic pollution as something more insidious: dispersed, systemic, and harder to see.
	The Paradox of Plastic: Cost, Benefit, and Consequence — Big Think, 2022 How plastic made the modern world possible—and why we’re left managing a material that perfected permanence.
	A Brief History of the Plastic Bag — Orion Magazine, 2020 From convenience to controversy: how one object came to symbolize the promises—and fallout—of a disposable future.

Designed to last

Not all icons are rare. Some were designed decades ago and now live quietly in our kitchens, pockets, and collective memory. Shaped by the possibilities of plastic—and by the designers who imagined new ways to live with it—these objects have become lasting parts of everyday life.

Monobloc Chair (1972, Henry Massonnet, Fauteuil 300)	Credit Card (1959, American Express)	Tupperware Wonderlier Bowl (1946, Earl Tupper)
Bic Cristal Pen (1950, Marcel Bich, Société Bic)	IKEA FRAKTA Bag (1986, Marianne & Knut Hagberg)	LEGO Brick (1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen)

Ways to get inspired

Among the many initiatives tackling plastic today, these projects creatively explore what plastic can become—turning waste into sound, tools, and archives that invite us to see the material differently.

EvoVinyl by Evolution Music Bioplastic records that prove sustainability can speak in stereo.

Precious Plastic An open-source network building machines and systems to give plastic new life—locally and collaboratively.

Archeoplastica* A digital museum archiving decades of plastic pollution as cultural relics of the Anthropocene. *this is an Italian-based initiative, the website is only in Italian.

Through art

Emergent Behavior — Thomas Jackson Plastic objects—party cups, straws, hula hoops—appear as living clusters in Jackson’s suspended installations, echoing natural swarms and unsettling our sense of where synthetic ends and organic begins.
The Plastic Design Collection — Design Museum Brussels Originating from Philippe Decelle’s Plasticarium, this collection showcases over 2,000 plastic objects—from everyday items to iconic design pieces—highlighting plastic's evolution in design from the 1950s to today.
1826 — Mandy Barker Named after the year photography was invented, 1826 combines early photographic processes with contemporary marine plastic pollution. Barker’s series reconstructs daguerreotype aesthetics using ocean waste, linking the origins of image-making with humanity’s ongoing imprint on the planet.

Wear it well

Fashion has long been a mirror of material culture—and plastic is no exception. Today, new approaches in design push beyond aesthetics, exploring how garments can extend the life of what was once discarded.

RE;CODE

LARMA Studio

Batoko Swimsuits

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