Designing for a Better Planet: My Journey with Coati Home®
A conversation with Revista Agenda about how Coati Home® merges design and environmental regeneration — and why creating products that last a lifetime is our true path toward a more balanced future.
"The real challenge is making products that truly care for the planet competitive against those that don’t."
In 2016, Carolina Arango launched her first venture, TRASTO. Before that, she spent years traveling across Panama and neighboring countries, mapping local workshops, artisans, and producers.
"That time was key to understanding the region’s production capabilities and building relationships based on respect and collaboration," shares this industrial designer.
TRASTO later evolved into Coati Home®, "with a clearer vision of environmental regeneration and the role design plays in that process."
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Panama, a country where tropical rainforests meet coral reefs. My childhood was deeply shaped by a connection with nature — diving among corals, hiking through jungles, and observing some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. That closeness to wildlife, landscapes, and natural cycles shaped the way I see the world — and later, the way I design.
Have you always focused on protecting the environment and thinking about ecosystem regeneration?
Absolutely. At Coati Home®, we work with 100% recycled glass — not just for its beauty and durability, but because it helps address one of the most invisible yet devastating threats to biodiversity: sand extraction. Today, sand is the second most extracted resource in the world, after water. It's used in almost everything: cement, ceramics, glass, metallurgy… But uncontrolled sand mining is destroying entire habitats, especially along rivers, beaches, and seabeds.
One of the saddest examples is sea turtles. They depend on healthy beaches to nest, returning every year to the same beaches where they were born. But those beaches are disappearing due to sand mining. In just 50 years, the green sea turtle population has dropped by 90%, largely because of how we consume. That's why, at Coati Home®, we choose recycled glass: by avoiding new sand extraction, we help protect the ecosystems that desperately need us.
At COATI, you create products designed to last a lifetime. There’s beauty in the objects we keep forever at home.
I believe that true value doesn't lie in what shines for a moment, but in what stays with us — what becomes part of our homes and routines. At Coati Home®, we design with permanence in mind — making each object with enough quality, purpose, and beauty to be used for years, not discarded after a few months.
There’s an emotional bond that forms with long-lasting objects: a cutting board that accompanies every meal, a glass you reach for every morning. Simple, honest objects that collect stories over time.
This, to me, is the most important aspect of sustainability: using fewer resources. We can recycle, yes — but if we continue producing and consuming without limits, no planet can withstand it. Choosing objects built to last a lifetime is choosing a more balanced future.
What are the biggest challenges you face at COATI?
The biggest challenge has been finding materials and production processes that truly protect ecosystems and mitigate habitat destruction — while also being competitive in a market that still penalizes responsible products with so-called "green premiums," the added costs of doing things the right way.
We’re not against industrial manufacturing, nor do we blindly prioritize handmade methods. We simply support whatever works best for the planet. But for this industry to grow, we need more people to choose products made with 100% recycled materials and certified woods that protect natural forests. Only then can we build a fairer market and a more sustainable future.
And your biggest satisfactions?
Seeing an idea born from the desire to protect life transform into objects that people use, value, and keep for years is one of the greatest satisfactions. There’s nothing more powerful than knowing that something you designed is helping to regenerate a forest, protect a turtle's nest, or reduce the resources we consume as a species.
I also love when someone writes to tell us they can’t live without their cutting board, or that our glasses have become their favorites at home. That’s when you realize that design truly has an impact: it improves lives, reconnects people with the planet, and leaves a positive footprint that goes beyond the object itself.
And of course, working with talented teams, people committed to a shared purpose, and knowing we’re building something that might inspire other brands or designers — that fills me with energy and hope.
Consumers are increasingly seeking out environmentally conscious brands. Does that fill you with hope?
Yes, absolutely. It gives me hope and reassures me that we are not alone. For many years, speaking about sustainability felt like swimming against the current. Today, more and more people understand that we can’t continue producing and consuming as if the planet had no limits.
Seeing this shift in consumers — who now pay attention to materials, product stories, and impacts — is a sign that something is changing. And while there’s still much work ahead, it’s encouraging to see awareness grow and translate into real action.
Because every time someone chooses a product that protects life, they are supporting a different model — one that cares not only for the present, but also for the future of the planet and all the species we share it with.
This interview was originally conducted by Revista Agenda and published in April 2025 for Earth Day. Shared here with permission.