apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, that's a great visual statement on global warming, but it evokes such loneliness and depression that I couldn't, um...'bear' to live with it. Nor could I live with the irrational but inevitable guilt of accidentally stepping on the poor lonesome thing.

Or putting a coffee table over him for that matter...

God that's stupid.

I'll never stand to have this, too depressing.

HAHA!

My kids would smash him into the carpet in 3 minutes flat

I'm with lightspeed. My very first thought was actually "But what if I stepped on him!?"

Were this created by a textile artist, as a piece of art, I would probably appreciate it a lot more.

But "as a rug," it falls flat. Pun intended.

To feel better, add several Ringed Seals to the ice flow.

I don't know why this wouldn't be art, or why art can't be a rug. Sometimes the designs on this site are so ridiculous, to such a whimsical point that people get on your case to "have a sense of humor" and this is sort of the opposite of it. It's maudlin, but whimsical, without being ridiculous, because it's extremely sad. Is this the truth, is it a warning? It's sad, but it's not exactly telling a fair story. There's still more than one polar bear and a lot more ice. It's manipulative because it's art. It's just a fake tiny little bear. Does the rug make you think? It makes me think of how fun it would be to pretend I'm a giant walking on the ocean and taunting lonely polar bear by my giantness.

A publicity stunt.

Maybe the act of someone eventually stepping on the bear was intended by the designer? Sort of as a metaphor for what's actually happening.

Although the rug's image depicts one of the more horrific ways bears are now dying in Southern Hudson Bay, it's more often through slow starvation as the sea ice forms later and thaws earlier than ever before, giving them less time to hunt in their natural habitat. They're slated to go extinct in this part of Canada by 2050.

The rug demands attention and forces awareness of the problem, which is often all that is needed to enact change. This would be a killer rug in, say, Greenpeace's office or lounge -- but in my own home I need some calmness and a respite from things that overly demand my attention.

I changed my mind - on reflection I'm starting to really like this rug, I seriously would put it in my home.

What kind of carbon foot print did the manufacturing of this sad little rug leave? Are they practicing what they preach?

Shallow.

i'm loving all the puns intended and unintended this rug has evoked! "falls flat" / "carbon footprint"... ha ha!

Unless money from the sales of this rug goes towards global warming, then this is a total sham.

as they say in their description, rugs have long been used to tell the story of our history. this is a great statement. just because it is a rug doesn't mean it can't be art.

it is a piece of art you can purchase for your home that makes a statement. what the statement is? up to the viewer, as with any other piece.

All of a sudden I want to cry. Or at least throw him a harp seal.

I'm with crash/rainyday on this one. While I can appreciate this rug both as art and as home furnishing, I can't appreciate it as consumable.

Incidentally, I like how they have the model on the chair not actually on the rug. As an art piece it is certainly provocative.

no one else is disturbed by the little boy in his tiny nut huggers?

Oh brother!

Maybe the kid is uncomfortably hot from all the global warming.

Does anyone know how much it costs? Is it for sale? I would totally buy it, although the first thing my dog would do is chew the polar bear off....I'd have to put an acryllic box coffee table over it.

LOL Tiny!

Yeah, I agree. It's a sad statement and i think one that tugs on all our heart strings. Still it's an important way to raise awareness and for that I am grateful. With the knowledge of global warming and the plight of the polar bears, maybe we can start electing leaders who will help the situation. I am still optimistic. --Cheryl Janis, Editor-in-Chief, Planet Pink n' Green - http://www.planetpinkngreen.com

This is hilarious!

Where are the desperate, starving-from-drought or drowning-in-a-flood human figures?

Seriously, how is buying this carpet going to help end global warming? Consumerism in the name of the environment?

come on guys lets get a boat and go shave the polar bears so they dont sweat to death

...no seriously though, that happens tiny ice big ocean polar bear swims the wrong way, they are drowning and stuff now :(