TV Packaging Becomes Stand - instant upcycling!

Most recycling, as the Green crowd will tell you, is actually "downcycling." That is, recycled materials are lower quality than when they were new, and are therefore used in lower-grade situations - so eventually downcycling leads to the landfill anyway. Then there's "upcycling," where a reused product or material is actually used in a more refined or valuable way. It's like alchemy - gold from lead!

It's good to see that some alchemy is being practiced out there! From designer Tom Ballhatchet on Yanko Design and through Gizmodo, this bigscreen-TV packing is cleverly designed to serve as a TV stand. The primary appeal of this design is the delight it produces: an unexpected extra feature where there was once only ugly styrofoam. Sure, it's functionally sufficient, if a little basic - just the two shelves. And it makes some sense as a market-appropriate item, since younger buyers with less disposable income are wanting larger and larger TVs, to the exclusion of all other furniture. Even the ID could be cleaned up a smidge, using styro inserts to hug the form of the TV when packed and removing them to simplify the shelf shapes in stand mode.

But the product is the surprise, the delight, and the alchemy of upcycling.