enzo mari's ecolo vase tag for discarded common plastic containers

in 1995, enzo mari released a new variation of ‘autoprogettazione’, an eco-design called ‘ecolo’ that transforms household cleaning bottles into decorative vases. like ‘autoprogettazione’, the work includes a simple set of instructions, along with the finished product, so that customers can create their own decorative masterpieces from household detritus. it was a simple idea, where the ornamental becomes useful, and rubbish becomes beautiful.

instructions for DIY making of a vase for flowers from used packaging. in addition to providing a functional, replaceable product at no cost, the booklet contains a rigid label to be applied, if desired. the project transmitted a critical message to the commodity system: ‘today design is reduced to a label’.
image © designboom

‘ecolo’ has been an ‘designed’ as an allegory of an unequivocal coexistence with the degradation of our days. initially, in 1992 when I was still collaborating with enzo mari, he proposed this work to me, but we both were hesitant to self-produce it on a large scale. then in 1995, he presented the ‘ecolo’ project to alessi. the tag came together with a manual of suggestions on how to transform plastic packaging bottles into vases. mari himself also cut up a series of bottles into vases, a number of which he then signed. the ‘client’ was therefore given a choice: would they buy mari’s DIY instructions or a vase that had already been transformed, and which may have been signed by mari? these choices came with different price tags. in this way, mari not only drew attention to the importance of recycling (early in the history of design already), but also stimulated reflection on the status of design.

didn’t design need to be democratized?
was a self-made vase worth less than one cut out by mari?
where does ‘open-source design’ end and imitation begin?

edition of (booklet and) ‘vase tag’ for discarded common plastic containers by alessi (1992/95, designboom’s collection)
image © designboom

excerpt of text from booklet:

we know that most of the price we pay for bottled water or other drinks, but also for detergents or miscellaneous consumer products, is due to the cost of their packaging and labels, which are a synthesis of the advertising message (we are not concerned here with the problem of distribution). the amount of this cost tells us that what we are paying for is not so much the contents but their image, because it is different. to this must be added another, specular cost: that of the environmental pollution caused not only by the uncontrolled dispersal of used packages, but also by the processing of raw materials necessary to their manufacture, e.g. wood paste, petroleum, metals and also, in cases where this occurs, by the recycling of used packaging. a further type of pollution, similar to this, also exists but not everybody is fully aware of it: namely the incessant proliferation of new forms to connote goods whose duration ought to be much longer than that of disposable products. in this case, too, the pollution is evident: it is not a paradox to say that the uncontrolled proliferation of the forms that constitute cities ultimately corresponds to a rubbish-dump of perception.

ecolo (signed, 1995)
80 wooden boxes with unique pieces, vases made by hand by the artist from recycled household product containers
limited edition alessi
image © designboom

(continued) 

the instructions for making the ‘ecolo’ flower-vase are, therefore, the allegory of a bright, though not equivocal, coexistence with the pollution of our time. below is a list of its characteristics:

1) a package, which would otherwise certainly contribute to pollution, is salvaged without any cost to the community.

2) the vase is really functional. having little or no cost, it can be changed whenever desired. its simplicity is admirably suited to enhance the very high decorative quality of the flowers that it will contain.

3) its extremely simple form is of high quality. it springs from the contrast between the commonplace form of the industrial article, the cutting necessary for its new function, and its new descriptive label. furthermore the user herself is involved not only in its reasons but, if she wishes, in its making and shape. ‘ecolo’ can be acquired in the following ways.

mari’s symbolic project was directed against environmental degradation but also against that of the signed object:
the vase is secondary to the floral composition.
image © designboom

enzo mari, ecolo (signed, 1995)
wooden box, unique pieces, vases made by hand by the artist from recycled household product containers, limited edition alessi
image © designboom

what is ecology?

‘ecology is a correct relationship, in a general sense. with nature. from the point of view of a promotion, only if public opinion is involved, this becomes the only force to intervene in political decisions. we can also talk about ecology and develop a concrete research, to understand and develop devices and demonstrate the urgency of doing. it should be based on the concreteness of doing.’ enzo mari.