Is it possible your next gaming console could help solve New Zealand’s plastic problem? Watch Video.

I grew up in the 90s and 2000s.

Gaming was mates crowded around the TV, split-screen battles, button-mashing until your thumbs hurt.

But today, gaming has a waste problem.

So does design.

Every year in Aotearoa we send hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic into landfill. Most of it never gets a second life.

That’s why when the bro Preston from Arca Arcades asked us to build his vintage arcade machines with Critical. Cleanstone panels, the answer was simple: Lessh go brotha!

The side panels are made from Kohu Cleanstone

100% recycled plastic, soft-plastic bags

When CNC carved, it looks like whalebone

Strong, waterproof, built to last

This kaupapa is playable art.

It connects people.

It cuts carbon and waste.

This is what good design and great products should do:

Be playful, carry stories, connect with te ao Māori while leaving less waste behind

But as cool as this is, you don’t need to be building arcade machines to take part.

Because Critical. Cleanstone are being used in:

School reception walls

Retail and hospitality fit-outs

Furniture, benchtops, signage

And yes even in homes.

What stories could your projects tell if your materials carried meaning, not waste?

If you’re working on a fit-out, furniture range, or space where sustainability and great design matters—go to criticaldesign.nz, let’s kōrero.