Plastic has fallen into disrepute as a negative symbol for the destruction of the environment and the throwaway society. Yet there was a time when plastic materials were considered symbols…

Plastic has fallen into disrepute as a negative symbol for the destruction of the environment and the throwaway society. Yet there was a time when plastic materials were considered symbols of progress;morethey were already modern in the last years of the Weimar Republic until the Second World War. Household goods from “Pollopas” in particular were luxury objects for a young elite with an affinity for technology and at the same time harbingers of a new consumer society as it developed in the 1950s.Under the direction of the industrial designer Ludwig König and inspired by the design principles of the Deutscher Werkbund, Dynamit Nobel AG produced extremely colorful plates and cups, pastry tins and ashtrays, salad servers and butter knives from this virtually unbreakable material. Their design is so modern that they are often appreciated decades younger. Kay Meiners illuminates the history of Pollopas household goods for the first time in terms of design and shows new, revealing aspects of the departure into modernity.