I was out in the wild when I spotted one of New Zealand’s most invasive predators—soft plastics—darting across a busy road.

This one was lucky. Most aren’t. WATCH RESCUE VIDEO

Aotearoa imports over 400K tonnes of soft plastic waste each year and up to 330K tonnes are sent to landfill. The rest? Not it it's natural habitat 😂 - But let's change that.

While we fight to manage this waste crisis, another issue is growing just as fast.

The average interior fit-out lasts 5-7 years before being ripped out and sent to landfill. Traditional materials are disposable.

Here at the Critical. zoo, we’re rescuing plastic waste and rehabilitating them into Cleanstone—100% recycled panels built for beautiful interiors.

No laminates to peel. No MDF to swell. No need for landfill.

Durable enough to last a lifetime. If it ever wears down, we take it back and recycle it again.

And vulnerable creatures like the one in today's episode get to live free and happy lives instead of ending up in the ocean. Alongside our designer partners, we find them places to belong in fit-outs that care about sustainability.

This isn’t about one problem. It’s about solving two.

If you’re designing a fit out, let’s talk about how you can be a conservation partner to create projects that are both beautiful and waste-free.

Book a call with me here: https://calendar.app.google/n3GdiBdPHWNRPUen9

And see how it works: criticaldesign.nz

What’s one material you wish had a better end-of-life solution? Drop it in the comments.