Done before

Some say that the wheel was initially invented by the Japanese, but they did not find any use to it so they put it away. The Chinese took it and found a great utility for it, revolutionizing the entire world. The Japanese were so annoyed by this, that they decided to borrow many ideas from others and take them to a much higher level. As a result, they became one of the most powerful nation in the world.

So is it actually bad to borrow ideas and use them in order to do good? Let’s take a look at the example of Precious Plastic, which started in 2013 in Eindhoven as Dave Hakkens’ graduation project. His goal was to create his own toolset so he could use recycled plastic locally. As soon as he developed the machines, he shared them online hoping that people would build their own ones in other parts of the world and give him some feedback and improvement tips. After 4 years, he managed to develop a superior version of Precious Plastic, squeezing the whole process in a 30m2 plastic recycling workspace and to gather a global community who share their knowledge, tools and techniques online and for free.

The fact of reapplying an existing idea somewhere else can be accused of being unoriginal, unimaginative or uncreative. But at the same time, if a project is implemented around the world it means it has been tested and it can be improved and redone with high chances of success.

Too many good ideas win awards and remain forgotten. Too many viral actions and people are just that: temporary and forgotten the next day. If they are so good and helpful, why not do them again and help as many people as possible?

We’re on it! Stay tuned!

Ainhoa Morales, Art Director