Children, universities, design studios, cooperatives, individuals, schools, established and emerging designers, couples, groups of friends: over 300 projects arrived from all 5 continents, in just 3 months, to participate in Rossana Orlandi’s international prize, which launches the message that even Design can be part of the solution to one of the most serious problems on the planet.

The winners of the Ro Plastic Prize, chosen by an international jury – who will receive a prize of 10,000 euros each – were awarded at the Ro Plastic Prize Ceremony in the Auditorium of Museo Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci di Milano.For the Design category, partner Rossana Orlandi, the winner is Alexander Schul (Germania), with the project Substantial furniture line, a chair made entirely of recycled plastic. “I hope to succeed with this project in further stimulating the sensitivity of individuals to such a serious topic, spurring them to change their lifestyle: avoiding the abuse of plastic and its incorrect disposal before it contaminates both sea and land.” stated Rossana Orlandi.For the Home textiles category, partner Econyl by Aquafil, the winner is Reform Studio (Egypt), by Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem, with the project Plastex, a line of textiles made of reused of plastic bags. “I have always believed in creating wealth from waste – and plastic pollution today is a huge problem and a big opportunity for us to show how we can tackle it. We are proud to support an award which celebrates regenerative textiles for their high performance and durability which is very powerful when combined with a strong design that will outlast trends. We look forward to deepening our relationship with the design world to grow awareness on the subject, because today, there are no limits when combining design, quality and aesthetics.” stated Giulio Bonazzi, CEO and Chairman Aquafil.For the Conscious innovation projects category, partner illy, the winner is Precious Plastic (Netherlands), for their plastic recycling awareness project via open source video tutorials. The prize was accepted by Mattia Bernini, designer of the Precious Plastic Extrusion Machine. “It’s a great pleasure to deliver the Conscious Innovation Project Award on behalf of illy: a theme which we feel particularly close to because it’s about values – sustainable quality & continuous innovation – which are part of our DNA and inspire us – for the past 85 years – in pursuing the mission of offering the best coffee in the world. Art and design, also part of our DNA, have the ability to amplify the most current topics and make them accessible to an even broader public. So today, in this pivotal moment of the Milan Design Week, promoting emerging talents is no longer just useful, but necessary.” stated Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO illycaffè.For the Packaging solutions category, partner The Bicester Village Shopping Collection by Value Retail, the prize was not assigned because the projects presented did not meet the requirements of the call. “The waste of plastic offers designers the opportunity to be pioneers of sustainable solutions that embrace creativity, performance and innovation. Today, an important step has been taken in tackling this problem with Rossana Orlandi who has paved the way for this movement through the GuiltlessPlastic project. We are proud to participate in this movement and challenge young talents to reinvent the next generation of sustainable and durable packaging.” stated Desirée Bollier, President and Chief Merchant of Value Retail, owner and operator of The Bicester Village Shopping Collection. The prize will be re-launched by The Bicester Village Shopping Collection by Value Retail, with a new deadline.

Winning a consultancy in terms of Eco Design through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, offered by Demetra.net, is the project Urban Play Furniture by Mathej Janskj, from the Conscious innovation projects category.Special Mentions, dedicated to those projects that could have been winners for design and creativity, but that for production purposes need to be further improved, go to:

  • for the Design category, partner Rossana Orlandi, the Pretty Plastic project, wall covering from the Dutch firm SLA + overtraders w.
  • for the Conscious innovation projects category, partner illy, the Hunter-Gatherer in the Anthropocene project, an iconic kayak, from Zoe Jo Rae (UK).

All ninety finalists of the international call, including the four winners, were on display for the entire Milano Design Week, with an installation curated by Daniela Gerini, at the Ro Garage in Viale di Porta Vercellina 15.

The jury of Ro Plastic Prize was: Carlo Bach – Art Director Illy – Philip Battin – Design Manager of Google and Jury Chair of INDEX: Award; Desiree Bollier – Chair and Global Chief Merchant for Value Retail Management; Giulio Bonazzi – Chairman & CEO of Aquafil Group; Giulio Cappellini – Architect & Art Director; Li Edelkoort – Trend forecaster; Marcus Fairs – Founder & Editor in Chief of Dezeen; Cristina Gabetti – Sustainability Advisor of GuiltlessPlastic; Piero Gandini – Executive Chairman Design Holding; Marva Griffin Wilshire – Founder and Curator of SaloneSatellite; Arthur Huang – CEO & Founder of Miniwiz; Ravi Naidoo – Founder of Design Indaba; Paul Rose – Leader, Geographic Seas Expeditions, National Geographic; Ivy Ross – Vice President, Design for Hardware Products at Google; Cuiming Yuan – Chemical researcher.