ki saigon compiles letters to future generations in a book made from recycled plastic

vietnam-based creative agency ki saigon presents ‘letters to the future’, a book made from recycled plastic pages. the handmade book contains 327 letters that were written by people from all over the world to their imagined great, great, great grandchildren. the non-profit art project was conceived as a way to bring together like-minded people who want to see a positive change in society with regard to our environmental impact on the planet.

images by wing chan (videos by justin ngiam)

the project began with the fact that the plastic we throw away lasts more than a thousand years. that means even a single-use, thrown away plastic bag will still be around when our great, great, great grandchildren are born – 1000 years from now. instead of plastic, the team at ki saigon wants to leave the future with hope, compassion and optimism, while highlighting the duality between this and our current wastefulness.

to bring out this duality, ki saigon asked people to write letters to their great, great, great grandchildren. over the span of 4 months, the team collected 327 letters from 22 different countries. 

ki saigon then took these wonderful messages and printed them on the very plastic that litters our streets and streams, teaming up with local recyclers to help source the plastic. they were able to collect different types of plastic bags, styrofoam boxes, bubble wrap and various types of plastic sheets needed to create the base material. collected plastics were ironed in between teflon/baking paper to fuse them together.

each letter was then scanned, turned into silkscreens and individually hand-printed on each page, preserving the original handwriting of the author. the printed letters to the future were hand-bound together between recycled plastic sheets, creating a book that will now last 1000 years.

on one hand, the book shows optimism, hope and compassion for the future of the planet. on the other hand, it shows the everlasting detriment of our actions when it comes to single-use plastic. 

the letters to the future book comes with its own artworks ready to be displayed to spread awareness of the cause. to spread the word, schools, universities and museums can access the entire body of work free of charge via the site here, on which the entire project is captured.

the project is sponsored by pizza 4P’S to mark the restaurant’s ten year anniversary, and to show customers their commitment to sustainability. with this project, the corporation will publish its annual sustainability report.

project info:

name: letters to the future

creative agency: ki saigon 

sponsored by: pizza 4PS

creative director: kumkum fernando

art director: chung hoang

lead visualizer: duc luong

visualizer: quang nguyen

producer: tue nguyen & khanh tran

director of strategy: indraneel guha

artist: zac buehner

design intern: dong quan

official photography: wing chan

production house: VAIB

videography: justin ngiam

music: numa gama