Thursday, August 5, 2010

Eco-Chic Coke Bottle Chair

The 111 Navy Chair, designed by Emeco (available exclusively at Design Within Reach) is made from 111 recycled Coke bottles! It took four years of research, design and materials testing to create this chair that was introduced earlier this Spring. It's basically a plastic version of the iconic 1006 Navy Chair, which was designed in 1944 for the US Navy for it's strength and lightness. (Fun little tid bit of information: The original metal chair was actually thrown out of a six story building's window in order to test/prove it's durability. The result, just a few minor scratches!)

The 1006 Navy Chair, designed in 1944
The plastic 111 Navy Chair is designed to have the same attributes as the original aluminum version – strength, durability and comfort but is available in six different colors - charcoal, flint, grass, persimmon, white, and Coca Cola red. The production of this chair is expected to keep three million plastic Coke bottles out of landfills each year and is suitable for outdoor and commercial use. It's one of the few plastic chairs to be built with leg stretchers, and will stand up to frequent use. 

  image via notcot.com
This has to be one of the coolest chairs I've seen in a while! It's an eco-friendly version of an icon chair and is relatively inexpensive compared to the original metal version. I love all the playfull colors that it comes in as well. I haven't seen it in person yet, but I think I love it!