Coke Joins the Navy (Chair)

Normally, Emeco (Electric Machine and Equipment Company)—a company that got its start crafting aluminum chairs for U.S. Navy warships during World War II—constructs its built-to-last, stronger-than-steel seats out of 80 percent recycled aluminum in a painstaking, 77-step process. For the 111 Navy Chair, a green redux of the now-iconic 106 Navy Chair, Emeco is adding a new material to the mix: recycled plastic soda bottles diverted from Coke's Spartanburg, S.C., plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant.

The goal of the collaboration between Coke and Emeco is commendable; to “alter consumer behavior by illustrating the value of rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) with beautifully designed and everyday products—ultimately encouraging more recycling.”

Each 111 Navy Chair is made from about 111 20-ounce recycled PET Coke bottles (and other materials like glass fiber) and will be available in six “earth-inspired” colors selected by Laura Guido-Clark: Coca-Cola Red, Snow, Flint, Persimmon, Grass and Charcoal. After debuting in Milan, they’ll officially hit North American shores in May and be available for purchase at Design Within Reach and directly through Emeco in June. The cost for each recycled plastic chair? $230, about half of the current price for the original Emeco Navy Chair.

When Coca-Cola approached me with this project I jumped on it. Although reengineering a core product is a significant investment for us, I was excited about the impact of reusing the PET from about three million plastic bottles a year. That’s a lot of bottles and a lot of chairs. The new chair is the strongest, and most beautiful we can make. We’ve turned something many people throw away into something you want and can keep for a long, long time.