Milan - The environment and climate change have become current and definitive topics in the design of home furnishings.

At Milan's furniture trade show, for example, designers showed several applications of reusable or recycled materials.

In addition, concerns about the environment are being conveyed, somewhat cryptically, by the use of crystalline and polygonal forms. They require less materials without causing the quality of the furniture to suffer.

Minimizing the amount of material is meant to integrate the subject of ecology into design and to effect change in thinking about costs.

According to furniture and design experts, there is a lot currently being invested in research and development. Ecological design is receiving an entirely new meaning and is becoming socially acceptable. The new green consciousness among furniture makers and designers should be transferred in the long term to consumers. (dpa)