'death bag' by vedang kulkarni + aakanksha rajhans - iida awards 2010
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'death bag' by vedang kulkarni + aakanksha rajhans - iida awards 2010


'death bag' by vedang kulkarni and aakanksha rajhans


'death bag' by vedang kulkarni and aakanksha rajhans from india is one of the shortlisted entries
from more than 4000 participants in the 'iida awards 2010' competition, organized by designboom
in collaboration with incheon metropolitan city.

by using a clear and powerful image of a coffin, 'death bag' aims to discourage the mass use of plastic bags.

designers' own words:
'plastic is very convenient and is a durable material. however, this durability is turning into a curse.
a plastic bag takes more than 500 years to decompose. and during this period, we keep building up piles
of hundreds of thousands of newer plastic bags. while all of us know that we need to stop using plastic bags,
more often than not, convenience scores over common sense and awareness towards protecting the environment.
the idea behind the 'death bag' or the 'coffin bag' is to ring that awareness bell in an individual's mind at that
precise moment when he or she is being offered a plastic bag in a store. the conventional plastic bag is shaped
in the form of a coffin by using origami folds. the bag aims to send a strong message to the user to not use it.
and honestly, how many of us would want to be seen carrying a plastic bag which looks like a mini coffin?
the shape and form of the bag should repulse an individual at the point of use and make a strong impression
on his or her mind about the ill effects of plastic.'



origami folding instructions




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for those who wish to republish an excerpt of this article, please have the courtesy
to mention that the project is a part of the iida awards 2010 competition,
organized by designboom in collaboration with incheon metropolitan city,
and link back to the original publication on designboom. thank you.
erica db
10.13.10  
22
plastic bag only takes up ~5% on the landfill in terms of volume. so stop blaming on plastic bags; it is all about how the users handle it.

fyi, the so called green bags(pp non woven bags)/ papers creates more pollution than plastic bag - they use a lot more plastic/energy. furthermore, what are the alternatives to plastic bag for meat products? biodegradable are made from starch and i don't see any reason that we should use food as a material for carrier bag, when thousands of people are dying from hunger everyday.
dentom   10.13.10
I really like the way of spreading awareness through the deathbag concept....good job...keep it up!
Nichole   10.13.10
hey 1st of all brilliant concept... very simple yet powerful in its approach. all the best designers.
walmer T.   10.13.10
yeah...being as coffins haven't been that shape for years, not a lot of people are going to look at that bag (especially since its not really coffin shape but rectangular anyway) and make the connection to say: "oh look, a coffin shaped bag, lets not use bags anymore, how scary". :P
humanmade.com.mx   10.13.10
People can procastinate as much as they want, but somewhere, this habit needs to end. If it takes "death bags" to bring that awareness, then so be it. I hope your design starts this....
The best thing would be to carry a universal cloth bag for any planned or unplanned purchases.
Kalyani   10.13.10
Its really a good concept. Its a positive way of spreading awareness which promises to bring a certain change in the minds of the audience. Nice work, Keep it Up.
nupur afzulpurkar   10.13.10
very good concept. If this concept really launch in market . it will bring awareness in people, which will reduce our environment pollution.
shivani   10.13.10
Its really a good concept...very simple and powerful in its approach..good job...keep it up!
nisarg   10.13.10
How about sigarettes in a little coffin.
bosrijk@xs4all.nl   10.13.10
simple! innovative and very practical! congratulations!!
MAK   10.13.10
Interesting ...practical approch..
keep it up!!
Chinmayii   10.14.10
Great design hits the message home without lots of words or explanation. This does just that.
nsc   10.14.10
Interesting Idea. I must ask, would a merchant want to use such a bag? If they were conscious of the problem would they not go with paper or encourage people to use their own cloth bag?
dave   10.14.10
i liked this concept a lot which will spread awareness in market regd. stoppage of plastic bags. cheers to creators..
shubhangi   10.14.10
nice concept ..... good bye to plastics .. keep up the good work .. :)
Upasana   10.14.10
I can't belive so many people consider this to be a good design concept, It does nothing at
solving the problem, is not viable at all because no one would want to produce it and no one
would like to give in their supermarkets, and besides i think goth kids could dig it. XD
Eduardo HV   10.14.10
WHY DON´T YOU ASK A CAR MANUFACTURER TO DESIGN THE CARS IN THE SAME WAY. THATS A MUCH MORE EFFÉCTIVE TARGET GROUP IF WE ARE TO SAVE THE PLANET. PLASTICS SAVES WEIGHT, IT PROTECTS THE GOODS AND FOOD SO WE HAVE LESS WASTE IN THE HANDLING. ANY LCA REPORT WILL GIVE YOU THIS FUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION.
Open your eyes   10.14.10
A creative idea to save the mother earth. This type of capaign is must in the developing countries, where waste management is not proper. Overall the concept of the design is very much environ ment friendly.
Shrinivas Kulkarni.   10.15.10
Excellent Concept
Sucheta Fairbank   10.16.10
The concept of a plastic bag that reminds you of its consequences is compelling--I'd like to see it applied to more disposable products. However, I agree with others who suggest that this particular approach doesn't quite get the point across. Especially when it's filled with something and no longer lying flat, I don't think I would ever make the connection.
Taylor H.   10.17.10
The focus of this design is to send a message however, as a product it ends up adding to the problem.
In the end, its just another plastic bag, albeit one thats been modified a bit.
Sending a message is one thing but offering an actual practical and helpful solution is another
Ger R.   10.18.10
Are you kidding? I LOVE the shape of this bag! And I'm not goth. But sorry, it doesn't say "death" or any such thing to me, neither am I inspired to think eco-anything. If anything, I just love it as a cute shopping bag and hope boutiques will stock it in nice colours including black.

Designers need to take a chill pill sometimes; death bag my ass.
Nonya   10.18.10
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