Changjie Xu
About
Changjie Xu majored in industrial design (BA) at Northeastern School in China. He next studied graphic design in Nanking, China, for two years, and now is taking his MA Visual Communication at The Royal College of Art.
Changjie Xu pays attention to current Chinese social problems, using various methods such as motion graphics, typography, publishing, and videos to narrate the phenomenon underneath every story. Now he is focusing on sustainable design like raising awareness about the environmental impact of toilet paper.
Statement
This project came to my mind while I was browsing Instagram, I saw a Public Service Announcement selling recyclable toilet paper and It was then that I realized that the excessive use of traditional toilet paper will cause huge damage to the environment. This caught my attention because I had never thought about it before and I am pretty sure that I definitely use too much traditional toilet paper.
I tried to find some designs and campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the environmental impact of toilet paper and promoting more sustainable alternatives and I also did some interviews. Then I found that recycled toilet paper is too expensive so people give up, besides it is much easier to buy traditional ones in a shop and no one is using recycled toilet paper at the moment. I can't change the market supply and price of recyclable toilet paper, and people won't buy recycled toilet rolls unless this situation changes, so unlike the previous campaigns, I came up with: " WIPE NO WASTE" which is my slogan. Because during the interview and questionnaires, I found a lot of people use too many toilet paper sheets when they wipe their bum.
Wipe No Waste
Project Text
You may be surprised but it is true that the toilet paper industry contributes to environmental degradation, climate change, and pollution. This project aimed at raising awareness about the environmental impact of toilet paper and promoting more sustainable alternatives, it targets people all over the world who do not know the negative impact of using traditional toilet paper, and disseminates the environmental benefits of using bamboo paper or a recycled paper, not only just tell them the bad impact of using traditional toilet roll but leave them a lasting impression and make them reflect on whether they are overusing toilet paper. By buying these papers from the charity institution "who gives a crap" we can be environment friendly and also improve sanitation conditions throughout the world, or what we can do at least is to make sure NOT TO WASTE toilet paper.
I made a popular science book called Wipe No Waste, it consists of three parts 1. The History Of Toilet Paper 2. Environmental Impact of Toilet Paper and Some Sustainable Alternatives 3. Investigation And Questionnaire to help dissemination. I also used recycled cardboard to make a shit, I would ask my audience to grab some paper ( The amount of paper is equal to the amount of toilet paper he uses to wipe his bum once) and put it on the book, and then the next person can throw those paper into my installation and put his paper on the book, by the end of the day people can literally see how many toilet paper sheets had been used.
Medium: recycled paper, arcrylic