Anti: designer lighting from waste material
The designers at anti love to reuse and recycle - and they've homed in on discarded umbrellas as the base material for their first collection of lamps. Here they explain their ethos
anti lamps use discarded umbrella frames in their collection of industrial-style designer lighting. Prices from £120. www.anti-waste.com
Anti is a waste design business led by British designer maker Mark Howells. 'We use objects that end up in landfill as building blocks for beautiful product design,' he explains.
One billion umbrellas are broken, lost, discarded worldwide each year. The nylon canopies may take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Umbrellas are designed NOT to last, with an average lifespan of six months. Umbrellas create 240,000 tons of metal waste per year. That’s the equivalent amount of metal to build four Sydney Harbour Bridges.
'So harnessing waste as a free resource, we create products that are genuinely circular in nature, free from animal cruelty, clever and authentic in origin and design,' says Howells. 'Our first product is lighting - elegant table and desk lamps made from discarded, lost and broken umbrellas.
anti designs are made from a mixture of materials, some up-cycled (umbrellas), recycled and biodegradable, with only five per cent of the product material coming from virgin materials. It also takes back products post-use. Desk and table lamps are available from £120 at anti-waste.com.
