The upcoming weekend will witness a huge party celebrating eco-friendly lifestyles at the Cool Docks. The annual Eco Design Fair is this time being staged under the theme of waste reduction and will feature green products and ideas covering fashion, energy, well-being, home, gardening, transport and food.

"We chose 'waste reduction' as our theme because it is one of the easiest, and most important, ways to become more eco. When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you don't have to worry about disposing of waste or recycling it later. Changing lifestyle habits is the key and we show you various inspiring and simple ways to reduce waste," fair founder Sherry Poon told the Global Times.

Variety of activities

Now in its third year at the Cool Docks, this will be the first time the fair is taking place over two days.

And in partnership with organizations including We Impact, GoodtoChina and ARTSpring, there will be a variety of activities available: a bike ride, lectures on waste, a chef's corner, a sustainable space exhibit, an eco-art values exhibition, and an "art waste" sculpture.

On Saturday morning, cyclists are welcome to join the Critical Mass Bike Ride co-organized with GoodtoChina. Assembling at 9:30 am in Xujiahui Park (at Guangyuan Road and Wanping Road), the bike tour will arrive at the Cool Docks before noon. Meanwhile urban farming continues to be a highlighted topic at the fair. "This year's fair features the launch of our educational urban farming video series including a video about composting," Susan Evans from GoodtoChina said. "And we will also launch the Shanghai Organic Farmers Market as a regular monthly event in Shanghai which will feature the Chef's Corner."

The fair will see vendors like homeware brand Bekog highlighting the idea of a "green" kitchen which features bamboo-made items such as salad bowls, utensils, cutlery and cutting boards. "We will exchange green ideas with visitors and give them tips about how to reduce carbon emissions during the hot weather," Frank Chiang from Bekog said.

Funky designs 

Among the other vendors, Somos Design creates funky, unique eco-friendly handbags, wallets, clutch bags and satchels, all made from recycled tarpaulin fish-food sacks from Vietnam, and recycled tarpaulin cement sacks from Thailand.

 "Our products are all about finding something beautiful in trash and we want people to see that beauty and realize the potential of 'upcycling' products," Tatiana Gomez from Somos Design told the Global Times. And these items will be shown in an eco-friendly fashion show to be held from 1 pm to 1:15 pm on both days at the fair's main eco stage.

Date: April 13, 10 am to 6:30 pm; April 14, 10 am to 4 pm

Venue: The Cool Docks

老码头

Address: 505 Zhongshan Road South

中山南路505号

Admission: Free

Call 6247-0577 for details