The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City has opened its National Design Triennial, an exhibit which features Tricycle’s Tryk Sustainable Samples. The exhibition title asks the question “Why Design Now?” to examine why design thinking is an essential tool. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 9, 2011.

Commenting on Tricycle, Ellen Lupton, curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and co-organizer of the Triennial, said, "Tricycle is rethinking the way an industry does its business. This is a new approach to eco-conscious design. It's not about creating cool-looking products. It's about creating new systems and new ways of working."

The use of Tryk Sustainable Samples online and as paper samples by leading carpet manufacturers has conserved thousands of barrels of oil and diverted more than a half million pounds of carpet from American landfills, according to Tricycle. The use of Tryk technology has had a documented positive economic impact of over $25 million on the industry, the company added.

For more information, visit www.tricycleinc.com or www.tryk.us