Nestled in the middle of Bangkok's concrete jungle, the Jim Thompson house has become famous across the globe thanks to the man who built it.
By Diana Bocco
Bangkok Thailand
http://www.dianabocco.com
As The EcoChic Design Award announces this year's lucky winner, Diana Bocco takes a closer look at how Hong Kong, the capital of fast-fashion clothing and extraordinary textile waste, has started to make a definite move towards producing sustainable, eco-friendly designs.
Just a few years ago, traditional hand woven textiles were at risk of being lost due to economic pressures. However, the increasing popularity of their designs in Western shops has allowed more people to discover the magic of tribal textiles and, in the process, empowered tribes with greater economic independence.
Cerulean blues, Carmine reds and Mulberry violets are making waves on catwalks around the world. But these are not your regular, run-of-the-mill blues and reds. These are colours born in nature and transformed into a work of art in the form of tribal textiles.
In an effort to breathe new life into the plethora of brightly coloured, discarded rice bags that litter Bangkok, Thai designer Anusorn Ngernyuang created Global Trash Chic, an eco-fashion initiative that turns disused items into shoulder bags, toys and even furniture.
Once upon a time, Bangkok was a city of artisans, each with a specialist trade. With its growth came an influx of factories. Homemade crafts were relegated to an unvisited chapter in the bustling city's design history. However, there is one community still thriving within the heart of the tangled concrete jungle: Baan Bat.
Fashion 4 Development is taking Asian fashion global, and improving the lives of artisans and workers in the process.
A number of companies around the world are exploring the use of recycled wood to make furniture. In some cases, it's not just the designs that are turning heads, but the wood itself. Eco-friendly companies using Indonesian reclaimed wood - taken from old jukung fishing boats no longer fit for threading tropical waters - are flourishing.
31 Bits is taking the design world by storm with paper jewellery made by internally displaced women in Northern Uganda.
Real men crochet; at least they do at Krochet Kids International (KKi), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "change the world one stitch at a time." KKi is proving that crocheting can not only be fashionable, but also lifesaving.
Sustainable design might sound like something out of a home decorator's vocabulary, but the term is slowly finding its way into other creative areas as well. A number of jewellery designers are finding ways to combine their loves of nature and design into exquisite pieces with a purpose. John Hardy is one of them.
A fashion label inspired by its workers? Keok'jay is fashioning change; producing unique, sustainable hand-made garments and changing the lives of its workers in the process.
With her latest project, American artist Hanh Tran is proving that paint works just as well on handbags as it does on canvas.
Long before tourists started flocking to the seaside town of Cha Am, Thailand's royalty was already enjoying the resort's sea breeze in style. The beachside town is home to the former royal summer hideaway, Mrigadayavan Palace, an architectural marvel of blond woods, ingenious design and airy beauty.
Using her country's native raffia leaves and other natural materials, Cameroonian princess, Priscilla Njankou, created the Ma'Mitons brand to keep the memory of her village alive.
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