Sean Miller's National Geographic bookshelf was a finalist in
an inhabitat green design contest.
Congrats to all the National Magazine Award winners
announced last week. Especially to Time which won magazine of the year. But
let’s face it. No matter how many awards a magazine wins, there are really very
few you actually (or even should) keep.
So what happens to magazines after they’ve been “consumed?” For
the most part, used magazines are tossed, and though fully recyclable, 80% are
thrown out as trash. Taken together, magazines and newspapers account for about
one quarter of our landfills.
So while 20% of magazines are being recycled, there is a
teensy tiny fraction of magazines that are actually being upcycled and
repurposed, mostly by eco-friendly/unemployed crafters. It’s not at all unusual
to find bowls, beads, bags, and notebooks all fashioned from discarded magazines
using techniques ranging from bookbinding to Victorian bead-making. Though glossy
fashion magazines, of course, are favored for all the colorful pictures and ads,
when it comes to individual titles, there’s only one magazine that “owns the
category,” as they say. There’s National Geographic and then there’s everyone
else. Take a quick look on Etsy and you’ll find envelopes, stickers, notebooks,
and yards of garlands, all repurposed from Nat Geos of both yesteryear and
today.
It’s hard to say exactly what it is about the brand (I’m
sure it’s been case studied) that always made National Geographic the magazine
you never threw out. Perhaps it was color photography at a time when the world
was black and white--or the incredible maps, or the yellow spines. Or even the authoritative title, which no focus group would ever rate as catchy
or memorable. One physical quality that probably contributed to its staying
power could be, literally, its physical staying power. Unlike many other early-mid 20th
Century magazines that simply crumbled with age, National Geographic didn’t
fall apart, or disintegrate in quite the same way. And in groups, the enduring tablet-like form
factor has always lent itself to such satisfying stacks.
Over the years National Geographic has won a National
Magazine Award in probably every award category for which it is eligible,
including Magazine of the Year, which it won last year. So even though it has
absolutely no need for nonawards of my own conjuring, it will always remain the top
spot-holder of the non-category, “Most Repurposed.”
Map-covered school chair/desk
Hang tags
Woven coasters
Picture frame
Collaged handmade sketchbook
Pine cone ornament
Gift wrapping
The iconic yellow magazines as decor
Elle Decor via Interior and Architecture Ideas
