We’ve seen cat litter made from recycled paper and sawdust and wallets and purses made from recycled juice packs. But we never thought we’d see chairs made from recycled coffee grinds or plastic bottles – I guess we’ve now seen it all! Yes, two different companies have created sleek modern chairs from discarded drink materials.

The first, UK-based Re-worked, redirects coffee waste from landfills and uses it to make a new substance called Çurface. This versatile material has been used to make chairs (the legs are from salvaged wood) and the company is even hoping to expand into sheeting, fertilizer, and other furniture items. Talk about the ultimate statement piece for coffee lovers!

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has partnered with chairmaker Emeco to create the 111 Navy Chair. Using recycled plastic from 111 bottles, and glass fiber for strength, the chairs are purportedly scratch-resistant and come in six colors, all with a 5-year structural guarantee. The 111 Navy Chair was introduced at the Milan Furniture Fair earlier this year, and the goal of the project is to show consumers that recycling can create fashionable, functional products. (We’ll toast to that!)

What’s next? Coffee tables from recycled paper? Nightstands made from old credit cards?

All eyes are on Copenhagen this month as the drama events of the UN Climate Change Conference play out. But those eyes aren’t just the ones of climate change activists and greenies. Multinationals are just as involved – even global beverage giant, Coca Cola, is descending on the Danish capital.

Working with other media, marketing, tech and creative partners, including DuPont and Gap Inc., Coca Cola was instrumental in launching the Hopenhagen campaign. The result? An interactive online campaign as well as lots of exposure on the ground in Copenhagen. Known for its creative advertising and branding, Coca Cola released a special Hopenhagen set of posters, seen all over town for the duration of the conference.

On Coca Cola’s Hopenhagen website, the company encourages visitors to take action against climate change and learn more about recycling and water as well as Coca Cola’s plant bottle, a soda bottle made form 30% plant-based materials (that means it’s still 70% plastic!). But supporting a good cause shouldn’t come without questions.

Although the company now supports several sustainability initiatives, most notably a partnership with the WWF that promotes water conservation, Coca Cola certainly has its flaws.

Earlier this year, Coca Cola found itself on a list of companies with factories causing major water pollution in the Chinese capital of Beijing. This summer, the Environmental Working Group called upon Coca Cola to protect consumers from the hazards of BPA, after a Coca Cola representative joined a group of lobbyists in a meeting to talk about the “fear tactics” used in the market in regards to BPA. Some have questioned the company’s tactics in India, and then there are the alleged murders, kidnappings and torture at bottling plants in Colombia, for which The United Steelworkers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund have filed a lawsuit against Coca Cola.

Beyond environmental and humanitarian complaints, Coca Cola also uses high fructose corn syrup to sweeten its US beverages, another minus point on the sustainability list.

So what should we think about Coca Cola and Hopenhagen? Yes, the campaign is a conglomerate of big business, but in a world where business is often a driver of change, multinationals are needed to step up to the plate, and this is a good example. However, it’s equally important to ask whether the support companies are giving is genuine or simply an attempt at the kind of marketing that will benefit them (aka greenwash).

At the end of the day, Coca Cola is a business and businesses want to make money. But, if Coca Cola achieves its goals of doubling serving sales to 3 billion per day in 2020, how and where the beverage is produced, how much water it takes and what it’s bottled in will be even more crucial in terms of the company’s footprint, no matter how much positive marketing goes into making the company look green.

Image credits: Coca Cola

I’m drawn to circle pendants. For my birthday, my mother bought me a silver design with diamonds from David Yurman. Such a nice mom. (By the way, if you’re reading I’d love matching earrings.) I have mod blue plastic ones for my Laugh In party dresses, and an earthy necklace with large gray stones and a platinum circle pendant in the center.

But glass recyclers have created something truly unique in these designs forged from beer, water, wine and Coca-Cola vessels. They’re so delicate and the glass charms are lovely.

For $70, Georgia artist Kathleen Plate lets you tell the world what you drink and how much you care about curbing consumption. The circle is achieved by cutting and firing the recycled glass and the chain is sterling silver. The color is derived from the drink: brown from beer, teal from wine, clear from cola and green from water. Quench your circle jewelry thirst at Uncommon Goods.