Back in March, in an interview with German publication Die Ziet, prolific industrial designer Philippe Starck admitted to feeling "ashamed" for being "a producer of materiality," saying, "Everything I have created is absolutely unnecessary." In shock, the design world was buzzing. Would this mean retirement for the can-do-no-wrong designer? What would we blog about? Well, luckily, we haven't yet had to cross that bridge. It turns out, according to a New York Times article, despite his misgivings, Starck has been "advocating environmentalism" for some time in his personal life with his "organic diet, the solar-powered oyster farm he owns in Arcachon Bay in southwestern France, and so forth — ending with 'the least polluting plane on the market,' his private jet." And, more buzzworthy, he has designed a line of products called "Democratic Ecology," which are "relatively cheap, attractive, energy-saving products" meant to “introduce everybody to ecology.” The first is a "miniature rooftop wind turbine, priced between $780 and $1,250, which Mr. Starck said can produce up to 80 percent of a home’s energy." In the works as well is a solar panel film that covers existing windows, a prefab green house, an electric car, an eco-moped, and a solar- and hydrogen-powered boat. As to be expected, these eco products won't be a stitch "granola": Starck says, “It’s very, very important that they’re beautiful, because ecology should be a pleasure, not a punishment." Read more about the line in The New York Times's "And Now, to Try and Catch the Wind."
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