PET Lamp Turns Ten: Alvaro Catalán De Ocón on Design, Sustainability, and Community

Alvaro Catalán De Ocón's PET Lamp project celebrates its tenth anniversary. The initiative began in 2011 after a trip to the Amazon revealed the scale of plastic pollution. Collaborating with indigenous artisans in Colombia, De Ocón transforms discarded plastic bottles into lamps using traditional weaving techniques. The project debuted at Rossana Orlandi's gallery during Salone del Mobile 2013. De Ocón, who recently won the Spanish National Design Award, runs his studio in Madrid and leads B Corp AcDo. He criticizes the design industry's consumerism and planned obsolescence, advocating for sustainability and cultural preservation. PET Lamp has expanded to communities in Colombia, Chile, Thailand, Ghana, Ethiopia, Japan, and Australia. A book titled "Un viaggio attraverso 10 anni di PET Lamp" has been published to mark the milestone.