Tom Dixon – My stance is to continually experiment.

“The word ‘green’ means a really tough challenge to anyone who’s involved in the encouragement of consumption, which is effectively what a designer’s job is. We’re faced with a constant dilemma: should we be making anything at all?  My stance is to continually experiment and encourage discussion. I’ve looked at things such as maintenance contracts rather than constantly selling ‘newness’. My latest green project in association with the Design Museum has been to convert my 1949 Bentley to run on electricity. But every time you do something you realise there are other factors that aren’t as eco-friendly as you’d hoped, like disposable batteries. It’s very difficult not to be hypocritical and part of the green-wash factor.

Right now, I’ve opened my first permanent showroom in Portobello Dock in west London. It used to be the Virgin recording studios and I’m now trying to create some furniture hits."