Event Preview: Eco Design Fair

This weekend the fifth Eco Design Fair gathers the top thinkers, doers, and vendors of the green sector for one weekend of workshops, fashion shows, BBQ, bike ride, raffles -- all manner of manner of karma-boosting, eco conscious goodness. The spring 2010 edition of the biannual fair is the largest to date, with a record-breaking 65 participating businesses.

As the name suggests, the Eco Design Fair centers around an all-day marketplace offering local lifestyle-greening services as well as goodies to buy and bring home immediately: organic food and clothing, handmade accessories produced from recycled ephemera of the city, etc. The fair is also going to be a hub of activity this year, with events targeting the full spectrum of visitors and interests.



Some of the highlights of interest to the creative community include:

• Ecological Urban Development talk from Professor Tao Kang Hua, a pioneering researcher, 3-4:30pm, Saturday
• ecoBuilding and Products tour, led by Brearly Architects and Urbanists, 10am-12pm Sunday
• Shanghai Scrap founder Adam Minter tells why "design for recycling" fails in China, and reveals what designers need to know about these oft-misunderstood recycling companies, 12:30 Sunday
• "Meeting the environmental graphics design challenge", talk by Mario van der Meulen, SGTH Design through GoodtoShanghai workshops, 10-11am, Sunday

Founder Sherry Poon, known for her certified organic Wobabybasics clothing, tells us more about what we can actually expect to see, hear, taste, and shop for at Jiashan Market this Saturday and Sunday.



What advantages does the new location offer? What makes Jiashan Market a "sustainable" location?
With double the exhibitors than previous events, the Eco Design Fair will introduce a new and larger development, Jiashan Market, as our Spring 2010 venue. It is a rehabilitation of an abandoned factory into a residential and commercial complex. The project was initiated by Brearley Architects and Urbanists (BAU) and conducted as a green project to preserve the natural environment as well as the social and cultural life of the district.

What can visitors expect to find in the ecoFresh organic produce section?
The ecoFresh Food Market will offer a wide range of organic and natural food products, including organic vegetables and fruits, organic baked goods, organic ice cream, organic jams, natural yoghurts, organic grains and dry goods. Wagas will also offer a BBQ and lunch menu with fresh, organic and natural ingredients.



Can you tell us some examples of products that will be available as raffle prizes?
The raffle draw will include products such as full year subscription to LOHAS magazine, full year membership to One Wellness Gym, farm entry tickets to BioFarm, organic coffee, organic sweets, fashion and toys. Various gift certificates will be available from Aspara, Sherpas, Mesa, Eco Budz, and Wobabybasics.

There are a lot of familiar brands participating in every Eco Design Fair. Any newcomers or rising stars to note this year?
This year we will feature several NGOs from China, like Xingeng and Qiangxiu, who offer beautifully designed products made through fair trade production methods. Also, we will have a large range of new baby and parenting brands, like Eskimo Kiss, ecobudz and ecoBibi.



As a designer and event coordinator, how would you describe the green-industries climate in Shanghai? How do you gauge development in this area?
The green industry and movement is Shanghai is growing rapidly, especially within the Chinese community. From my own organic clothing business, I see the movement moving into smaller cities beyond just the first and second tiered cities in China. What we find necessary now is a platform or an incubator for all these growing eco design businesses - which is the aim of the Eco Design Fair.

Full events schdule online at ecodesignfair.cn. 10:00am-5pm , April 17-18, Jiashan Market, Lane 550 Shanxi Nan Lu, 37, 上海徐汇区陕西南路550弄37号.