HONG KONG, 2 October 2003 — A visit to the Trade Development Council (TDC) Design Gallery in Hong Kong is one of the best ways to get an early look at some of the hottest new products created in Asia. Set up to promote excellence and innovation in Hong Kong product design, the walls and displays of the TDC Design Gallery showcase an incredible array of consumer goods, many of which have yet to become available elsewhere.
On a recent visit to the Design Gallery, tote bags made of woven measuring tapes were competing for space with portable weather stations. On the shelves were foam cows, micro stereo systems and psychedelic bath beads. Electronic devices measured everything from blood pressure to UV radiation. The merchandise talked, beeped, glowed and shrieked. Hours could be spent browsing, item by item. Touching and trying was encouraged, cautiously and gently. One never knew when something might let out a piercing alarm or start playing a tune. It could not only be unsettling but also expensive with the Gallery’s “break it, you bought it” policy.
Crowds gathered around one of the hottest new products at the TDC Design Gallery, the Mini Garden Landscapes. With Hong Kong only recently recovering from the SARS crisis, people are very interested in finding ways to improve air quality. The Mini Garden Landscapes were being touted by a company called Flower Fusion (flowerfusion.com) as natural air fresheners and a way to clean and beautify the indoor environment. Being sold as an “Oasis in your office,” the arrangements of miniature plants, pebbles and soil in glass containers were definitely attractive and low maintenance, but there was a question of whether their promotion was more hype than substance. A little research showed that the concept holds genuine promise.
In the early 1970s, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) discovered that the air inside Sky Lab 3 was contaminated with more than 100 toxic substances. The space agency decided that they needed to find a way to provide their astronauts with clean air. So they assigned environmental engineer Bill Wolverton, Ph.D., to the task and he found a simple solution to the problem — plants.
Working from the knowledge that plants recycle oxygen, Wolverton placed different plants in sealed chambers and then contaminated the air in those chambers with common indoor air pollutants, such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. Within 24 hours, Boston fern, dracaena, Ficus benjamina, and chrysanthemum eliminated up to 90% of the poisons in the air inside the chambers.
Wolverton’s outer space research was soon to have implications for the inhabitants of planet Earth. People began building office towers in which the windows didn’t open and the air was recycled. Homes were sealed and insulated to save energy. Offices and homes became filled with synthetic materials and chemical fumes. Toxic substances, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) built up indoors. Testing found that the levels of toxins indoors were often 20 to 100 times higher than the amounts found in outdoor air. People living in these homes and offices began getting sick. Headache, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, blurred vision, and eye and throat irritation were common. In addition, VOCs were linked to multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome.
Meanwhile, Wolverton continued his plant studies, eventually retiring from NASA and publishing a book, “How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants that Purify Your Home or Office.” Over the two decades of his research Wolverton found that plants absorb toxic chemicals through tiny holes in their leaves, and bacteria in their roots break down the pollutants, which are used by the plant as food. Even more interesting, Wolverton discovered that the plants perform their recycling task better with time and exposure.
Among the most recommended plants for air purification are: bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen, English ivy, chrysanthemum, corn plant, diffenbachia, mother-in-law’s tongue, Janet Craig, peace lily, marginata, spider plant, warneckii, golden pothos, wandering Jew and rubber plant. Two potted plants per nine square meters of floor space will help clean and freshen the air in a home or office. Since it is best to place a plant within an individual’s “personal breathing zone” — a space six to eight cubic feet around where a person works on a computer, watches television, or sleeps — the Mini Garden Landscapes are an excellent concept. Sensitive people with allergic tendencies are often concerned about the possibility of molds growing in potted plant soil. Research has shown that microbial levels are actually lower in a room filled with plants and high humidity than in a room with no plants and a lower humidity.
This is due to the plants‚ ability to release phytochemicals that suppress mold spores and bacteria. To further decrease the microbial concern, aquarium gravel or pebbles may be placed over the soil in the plant container to help prevent the formation of mold.
It is important to emphasize that nothing improves indoor air quality better or faster than proper ventilation. But if it’s impossible to keep a window open, then placing Mini Garden Landscapes within the home or office seems to be an excellent choice for the enhancement of health and well being.