That's cool. But that is quite a big cardboard box for shipping.

really cute idea... kind of expensive for a chair that took 0$ on materials

Design Within Reach consistently prices it's merchandise out of my reach.

I like the idea but I'll need to see them in person before I pass judgement.

It's significantly cheaper than Emeco's metal version of the Navy chair.

Just because the materials are recycled doesn't mean they are free. Recycled materials actually move on a commodity's market behind the scenes. Even if you pretend that there are no middle men involved someone still has to pay the people who collect the recyclables and process them, not to mention the facilities needed to do the processing. In some ways recycled materials can cost more to process than virgin materials. If you make something out of your own discarded coke bottles, you might consider it a no cost project, but if you think about it even then, you (or someone else) paid for the bottle, you didn't get it for free.

Love it! And it's a reasonable price for a dining room chair. Just sayin'.

My friends work at Coke and they have some in the office - I am going to visit it this week and will let you guys know how it is... me likey!

Scott: The box is sized to hold two of the chairs, so its actually for the environment when it gets shipped.

I really was hoping that they would offer the aluminum version in red. That would have been worth the $$$.

Just imagine 3 raw aluminum and 1 red aluminum chair around a table.

I am intrigued, since it IS significantly cheaper than the classic Emeco chair, and I love the colors. I guess one would have to see it in person to see how the sturdiness compares to the original.

I think the appeal of this chair is that it's made from recycled materials, not that it's "free."

And I'd add that:
It's a cool collaboration between tow great companies.
It's a great attempt by these retailers to think out of the Coke-bottle-carton for purposes green.
It's a great re-awakening of a modern classic.
It's a VERY decent price point for one of the hardest working chairs (and most comfortable) around.

Does it come in Diet? :)

i don't like these Emeco chairs. I've seen them in different settings and went to see them at different retailers, and I have yet to find a chair that sits perfectly on the floor. They are expensive as well....for what you are getting.

I'll pass.

I LOVE YOU PATRICK (THE OTHER ONE)!!! You keep me coming back for more!!

This might be a solution for me. I wanted a super sturdy chair like the Emeco to stand up to my two boys, but then I worried that even if my boys couldn't actually break the metal chairs they might break something with the metal chairs. Perhaps plastic is safer? And recycled is just super cool.

man it takes a lot of green to be green.

i don't hate the planet, i'm just not rich...

I'd have a hard time choosing one of the colors; I love them all!

Hey, you know that incredibly uncomfortable ubiquitous aluminum chair that's not selling anymore... what if we made it in plastic?

I'm glad to see it's not only me who hates these chairs.

i always thought navy chairs were great thrift finds at 5. 10 each -- don't exactly like the fact a company that murders its employees for trying to establish unions has its name emblazoned on it either.

I dunno, man. Yeah, it redirects a waste stream to something useful, but the aluminum original is both recycled and recyclABLE.

@lab director: that's the problem -- it's a new market, so there's not enough volume to make things cheaper, but with the things being so expensive, you're not going to get that volume. A catch-22 that's plaguing the entire "green" market. Turns out that the greenest thing to do is buy used/vintage/whatever. Adopt something, save it from a landfill. Anything you can do to avoid buying new crap, eco-friendly or not, is going to be better than the alternative. Yeah, I'd like a shiny new hybrid car, but the far greener thing is to buy a used Civic someone else has cast off for a shiny new hybrid. The "green" market is, in a lot of ways, just giving overconsumers a new market to continue overconsumption in. We need to buy less crap, not just new crap made with recycled materials. If you buy used, it's 100% recycled AND doesn't send the "hey, make more crap!" message to...crap manufacturers.

My dad does contracting work for the Navy so I've sat on quite a few of the aluminum versions of these in my lifetime. They are not comfortable to me and I also don't care for the nails-on-chalkboard screeches they make when they make contact with other objects. Hopefully the plastic version improves upon the latter issue.

I'm wondering where Coke enters into the equation. Unless the chairs are solely made from recycled Coke bottles, or Coke is providing pre-consumer waste to recycle into the chairs, what's up with that?

Do they want to encourage more recycling or do they just want to encourage more Coke purchases?

I like the idea. I'll have to see it in person before I can pass judgement on it. Love the colors and the finish. I just have wonder how sturdy it is. Price is good, but could be better. Hoping for $200.

Some clarification. Coke asked us to reincarnate our aluminum Navy chair in rPET about five years ago, and the 111 Navy was launched last April in Milan. It started shipping last summer and was 20% of our total sales for 2010. It is made of rPET from Coke's own plant in Spartanburg SC – 65% rPET and 35% glass fiber (for strength). We upcycled about 2,000,000 bottles in 2010, we estimage 5M by next year. This new chair is recyclable into new chairs. It’s about half the price of our aluminum chair - with a five year warranty. Our aluminum Navy chair remains about 25% of our total production, and selling better than ever.
Note to Jess Watson: the email you sent me is not working. I have tied a few times and it comes back. Please contact me at dan@emeco.net or 401 935 7088.
Best, Dan Fogelson, VP Sales and Marketing, Emeco.