French-based glassware manufacturer Arc International is trialling a newly developed safer pint glass in UK pubs. The new glasses have been created in partnership with consultants Design Bridge, working to a brief set by the Home Office's Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime. The high-tech glass-based vessels aim at minimizing injuries by avoiding dangerous shards when broken, after it was estimated that 87,000 violent incidents involving glasses occur each year in the UK. A second major glassware firm, Utopia, has also confirmed that development of its own safer glass model is now at an advanced stage. The project forms part of the Design Out Crime programme, a joint initiative between the Design Council and the Home Office's Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime. Its mission is to challenge designers.
