The Brand – Matt & Nat. Some ideas sneak up on you as if they were always meant to be.
The idea behind MAT(T)ERIAL and NATURE originally came to life in 1995, in beautiful Montreal. Low Maintenance Indoor Gardening With Pikaplant. Whether or not you've got a green thumb, Amsterdam design agency Leaps Innovation has developed two unique systems that make caring for a plant as easy as admiring it.
Their line, Pikaplant, offers both no-maintenance required blooming plants and—for the slightly more hands-on—an entire self-watering vertical plant shelf. While Leaps envisioned the creations, their work doesn't stop there. "We produce our products, and we work with local suppliers and production facilities," managing partner Dan Sutjahjo tells CH. Amour Vert is sustainable fashion made in the USA. Oat Shoes. Bamboo Tech Accessories. Beloved by progressive designers and earth-conscious consumers, bamboo grows free from pesticides and fertilizers in low water conditions.
Add to that construction-grade strength and a naturally gorgeous grain, and bamboo emerges as a top pick for sustainability and good design. Recently, the material has been making waves in the tech world, used to build everything from smartphones to keyboards. Below you'll find four creative new applications of the fibrous grass. ADzero Determined to bring bamboo to smartphones, U.K. student Kieron-Scott Woodhouse designed a concept for a more sustainable Android device. Animal Farm. Making the rounds on the web this week, a charming set of light fixtures inject sleek design—and fun—into the realm of bottle lamps, which can run the risk of looking like DIY kitsch.
Animal Farm, a series of abstract pig, giraffe, penguin, hippo and elephant figures made from upcycled glass bottles by industrial designer Nishi Chauhan, defies that notion while reviving traditional craft. Created using a wood and lac turnery technique native to the Channapatna of India, where the friction of lathe turned wood creates a melted lacquer of sorts, the six critters represent a nice combination of art, craft and sustainability.
For more details and contact information visit the designer's website. Images courtesy of Nishi Chauhan. Yours to Care For. Liane Rossler and Sarah Kings's latest project, "Yours to Care For," transforms approximately 1,000 recycled straws into charmingly simple, single-stem vases.
The crafty concept is one of several sustainably-minded ideas they have brought to fruition while working under the moniker Supercyclers, a collaborative group they co-founded last year. Sydney-based King and Rossler are acutely aware of the damaging effects plastics have on the world's oceans, and center much of their design work around recycling these common seawater pollutants. The vases—made from discarded plastic drinking straws—provide just one example of the Supercycler's unique take on scavenging. Their combined talent also led to a range of elegant bowls made from the ubiquitous plastic bag—a DIY series dubbed "Plastic Fantastic. " Simple, sustainable and elegant, the vases, which can be laid flat or propped up vertically, offer an easy way to add a little bit of green to your work area or living room.
Restructional Clothing by Ninna Berger. "Why make user-friendly clothes?
Because people don't know how to look after a garment anymore—how to iron properly or fold pieces—which is why they throw stuff away before they need to," says designer Ninna Berger, one of Stockholm's most avant-garde designers. The Swedish founder of Restructional Clothing has been getting particularly excited about buying a bolt of 100% ecologically sound new fabric for the first time in years. Heirloom Towels. Modern Apron. Gem Rings. Aquamarine Water Drop Ring. Maak Lab's Soaps, Salves and More. Drawing on their vegetation-rich surroundings in the Pacific Northwest, Portland-based Maak Lab crafts soaps, salves and candles with natural ingredients.
With a focus on experimentation and pushing the bounds of scents and ingredients in such products, the brand lives up to its name. Plants play a central role, and seasonality is key to ensuring that the vibrance of every scent is as apparent in the finished product as it is in nature. Offerings like the Coffee Bar are inspired by Maak Lab's location in downtown Portland. Shanghai Eco-Hotel URBN Shows Why Going Green and Sleek Design Go Hand-In-Hand. The entrance to Shanghai eco-boutique hotel URBN.
(Courtesy Photo) For environmentally conscious travelers with discerning taste, the appeal of top-tier hotels can often be dampened by the awareness of how much waste goes into creating their luxurious amenities: hotels create around 1.9 billion pounds of waste and produce around 60 million tons of CO2 a year. One Shanghai hotel out to prove that high-quality accommodations don’t have to mean a heavy environmental cost is ultra-trendy URBN, China’s first 100 percent carbon-neutral hotel. Renovated in 2014, the 26-room eco-boutique hotel located in a Jing’an District heritage factory warehouse prioritizes both sustainability and design.
Kowtow - 100% certified fair trade organic cotton clothing - The Studio & The Sketch. SVILU. Spiewak Outerwear: Recycled Down Process. NYC-based Spiewak is a brand steeped in history, yet has a vision toward the future.
Naadam Cashmere. Naadam does cashmere right, by responsibly sourcing the best materials possible.
Atelierlaurepaschoud-aw15-lookbook. Lookbook AG SS16 small. We predict the hottest 2015 packaging trends. As a key part of the marketing process, packaging designers must constantly step up their game — not only to get the design right, but also in order to educate and lead the industry towards more ethical practices. Ikea launches Space10 lab to explore sustainable living. Furniture giant Ikea has launched a research hub and exhibition space in Copenhagen to test product prototypes and ways of boosting consumers' wellbeing (+ slideshow). Ikea's Space10 will partner with individuals from the worlds of art, design, and technology on a series of research projects that will result in a range of prototypes, as well as exhibitions, events and workshops.
Its first project, called Fresh Living Lab, has seen the furniture giant partner with 12 designers from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. The team has created a series of conceptual products designed to improve health and wellbeing in city environments, as well as monitor and reduce energy consumption. These are being displayed in an exhibition of living spaces at Space10, hidden among standard Ikea products. Reclaim to Wear. Search results for 'EDIT PROJECTOCEAN' Water Vessels We've permanently removed all single-use plastic water bottles from our Foodhalls and restaurants, amounting to approximately 400,000 bottles a year.
Help us to tackle the plastics problem with our range of 'on the go' reusable water vessels, limited edition Project Ocean fundraising products and our curated collection of contemporary glassware. Close. Raw For The Oceans - Tailor Slim Jacket , Light Aged Restored. Udzungwa stretch bracelet. Bamboo Makeup Brushes - Menagerie.
CLEAN what's new. Hillary fayle. Be a Cat Playhouse Architect with BLOCKS. Poopy Cat (best name ever?) Has recently launched and successfully funded their newest creation, BLOCKS within 5 days. BLOCKS is a modular package that contains beams, cubes, a tunnel, bridge, on ramp, and two types of connectors so you can easily build a personalized playhouse for your cat. Made out of recycled materials, it is 100% biodegradable. Despite how lightweight it is, the house is solid and can carry the weight of any cat. Biodegradable Bowls Made From Food Waste. The FOODSCAPES project tackles the problem of food waste in a completely different way.
Rather than expending efforts to decrease food waste, they are utilizing food waste to be a functional piece of tableware. Beantown Bedding Luxury Disposable Sheets. Leftover, ground coffee has found a higher calling. As development in 3D printing continues to grow, so does concern over the sustainability of printed products.
While some printing studios are finding substitute printing materials, the majority are still using plastic or non-recyclables. 3Dom is an American company dedicated to creating sustainable, biocomposite and eco-friendly alternatives to the standard synthetic plastic materials. Its latest product, Wound Up is a new 3D printing material made from discarded coffee pulp waste. In the UK alone, over 500 000 tonnes of coffee pulp is produced every year, and on a global scale this amounts to millions of tonnes of coffee by-product that goes to waste. Leftover, ground coffee has found a higher calling.