sustainability
urban vertical garden built from recycled soda bottles
As part of an innovative partnership called Home Sweet Home (Lar Doce Lar) between multidisciplinary design firm Rosenbaum and TV producer Luciano Huck, the teams went through dozens of Brazilian homes doing dramatic makeovers of interior and exterior spaces. On their 48th home Rosenbaum designed a pretty amazing vertical garden that was suspended in a narrow walkway just outside the house. Response to the garden was so huge the firm quickly released design schematics (in Portugese) detailing how to build one.
[source: Colossal]
could “wooden” jeans reduce the denim industry’s carbon footprint?
Denim made from sustainable wood pulp, rather than cotton, could be the key to reducing the jeans industry’s sizable environmental footprint, according to a fashion student at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Dawn Ellams, a Ph.D researcher at the School of Textiles and Design, developed her “no-cotton” jeans using pulp from the eucalyptus tree, which is then spun into cotton-like yarn marketed under the trade name of Tencel. She also used digital-printing technology to replicate the stone-washed effect denim aficionados crave. Despite their physical similarities, Ellams says her “wooden” jean uses only a fifth of the water, energy, and chemicals required by its conventional counterpart.
going out on a limb
Producing a single pair of cotton-denim jeans, Ellams says, isn’t just energy intensive. It also uses an average of 42 liters of water, along with up to 15 dyeing vats full of harmful chemicals. Her greener alternative, however, costs roughly £27 ($42) to make. It also drastically reduces carbon emissions through a closed-loop production process that manages close to 100 percent recovery of the solvent used to render the wood into fiber.
A pair of cotton-denim jeans uses an average of 42 liters of water, along with up to 15 dyeing vats full of harmful chemicals.
A pair of cotton-denim jeans uses an average of 42 liters of water, along with up to 15 dyeing vats full of harmful chemicals.
“The sustainability issues associated with the manufacturing of cotton garments are already well understood, yet the use of cotton shows no sign of diminishing,” she says. “The research challenged the design and manufacture of denim jeans, probably the most iconic use of cotton. The overall aim was to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and water use associated with conventional manufacturing for denim jeans.”
Another plus? Eucalyptus grows rapidly without the need for pesticides, artificial irrigation or gene manipulation, according to Lenzing, the Austrian fiber company that popularized the material. The fiber yield with Tencel is also 10 times higher than with conventional cotton, even when grown on so-called “marginal lands” that cannot be used to cultivate food crops, it adds.
Ellams’ goal is to create an entire collection, even a eucalyptus-based dress or two.
[source: ecouterre]
ask your company to measure the carbon footprint of your office
Even if your office building wasn’t designed with sustainability in mind, there are several steps you can take to make it more eco-friendly. One of the first things to do is figuring out how the building’s performing right now. Check the Environmental Protection Agency’s guide to measuring the carbon footprint of a building.
upcycling coffee products
Used coffee capsules now upcycled as watches - Nespresso has been riding the home barista trend with counter-top coffee makers. But what to do with those crushed capsules? One enterprising idea is seeing them used as the basis for a handmade, custom timepiece as part of the Grand Cru collection produced by high-end watchmaker Blancier. At least you’ll always know when it’s time for a coffee. [via Brand Channel]
Leave it to a Manhattan-based crafter to use coffee shop leftovers to create a stylish piece of fashion. Dreamed up by P.S.- I made this… blogger Erica Domesek, this chic statement necklace is made entirely from plastic coffee stirrers, thread and a scrap of ribbon.
Inspired by a collaborative collection from Marc Jacobs and ’80s fashion icon Maripol, this trend-setting piece is sure to turn heads - whether you live in the big city or a small town. Create an inverted triangle like Domesek’s, or try another shape for the look that suits you best. [via Earth 911]
Brooklyn-based desinger Derek Munn enjoys all forms of visual arts, but his passion lies with expressive typography. When he was a child in Newport News, Va., he and his Little League teammates would store their water cups in a chain-link fence in front of the dugout to keep them clean. The memory inspired Munn to use foam coffee cups to create baseball-related typography at a local playground.
Check out his tutorial at Ragehaus to see how he did it, and give the geometric letters a try in your own neighborhood. This fun project would be great for sports games, but you don’t have to be an athlete to get in on the action. Just use the same technique to craft a typography message that represents your interests and transforms them into head-turning art. [via Earth 911]
Rather than tossing those espresso cups in the trash, repurpose them into a dainty (and surprisingly stylish) home decor solution like Hey Gorgeous blogger Rhiannon Nicole. All you’ll need is a few basic materials and Rhiannon’s detailed photo tutorial to help you do it right. Don’t worry if your espresso cups are branded with a coffee chain logo. You’ll be covering them with colored craft paper anyway.
Once you have completed your project, hang the string lights at home as a decorative accent, or use them to posh up backyard parties, baby showers or weddings. [via Earth 911]
Starburst home decor is trending in modern homes and apartments from coast to coast. But these picks can be pricey at most home decor chains. Ditch the added expense and create a starburst-style clock on the cheap using this detailed tutorial from Freckled Nest blogger Leigh-Ann Keffer.
Purchase a set of clockworks from a local crafts store to make the whole thing yourself, or use a thrifted clock with no dimension as a base for your spunky focal point. You’ll need a pretty sizeable handful of stirrers to complete this project. So, you may want to ask friends and co-workers to stockpile their stirrers for a few weeks before getting started. [via Earth 911]
If you’ve ever picked up coffee for a group of friends (or the entire office), you’re likely familiar with those pesky fiberboard cup carriers that tend to come with large orders. It would be tough to carry eight lattes without them, but once you reach your destination they become little more than extra waste.
Keep your carriers out of the landfill and create a funky piece of wall art at the same time by taking a cue from New Orleans mom and Bon Temps Beignet blogger Liz. The crafty mama arranged her cup carriers into a geometric pattern and added string lights for a modern look. Check out her tutorial at Bon Temps Beignet – chock-full of photos and tips to help you craft your own budget-friendly wall art. [via Earth 911]
build a vertical garden with recycled cups
Vertical gardens are a fun way to bring greenery indoors or to small patios and yards.
Turkish design firm Designnobis has created a living wall system with an upcycled twist: Their Naturwall allows anyone to create their own vertical garden using disposable cups. Rather than ending up in the landfill, coffee cups take on a second life as plant pots in the Naturwall system, which includes an aluminum metal frame with 10-12 cup holders. Users can set up the living wall in any arrangement that fits the size and type of their plants.
Designnobis believes that these vertical garden systems benefit the environment by not only reducing plastic waste, but also by increasing the number of plants indoors and in small outdoor spaces, which can help absorb carbon emissions. The Naturwall received the 2008 Green Dot Build Award, which recognizes innovative design and architecture that achieves the highest level of environmental responsibility.
[via Earth 911]
organic sculptures made from hundreds of pencils
South Carolina-based artist Jessica Drenk was born and raised in Montana where she developed an understanding and appreciation of the natural world that has since deeply influenced the course of her artistic career. Her installations and sculptures often imitate organic shapes, patterns, and textures even when using a medium that is often manufactured by human hands. Drenk’s most recent sculptures are a series called Implements, each of which begins with a mass of standard No. 2 pencils that have been tightly glued together. Using an electric sander she then molds the piece into a form that seems more likely to have originated in a dark cave or deep within the ocean than from a school desk. Of her work she says:
By transforming familiar objects into nature-inspired forms and patterns, I examine how we classify the world around us. Manufactured goods appear as natural objects, something functional becomes something decorative, a simple material is made complex, and the commonplace becomes unique. In changing books into fossilized remnants of our culture, or in arranging elegantly sliced PVC pipes to suggest ripple and wave patterns, I create a connection between the man-made and the natural.
You can find her work at Paia Contemporary in Hawaii, or Foster/White in Seattle, and see many more images over on Facebook.
[via Colossal]
saving food from the refrigerator
Although we think and talk about food on a constant basis, do we really know how best to preserve it or do we become lazy and leave the responsibility to technology? Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Jihyun Ryou thinks we no longer understand how to treat food. Her Save Food from the Fridge project involves placing certain foods on a group of “knowledge shelves” outside the fridge. With the goal of a better relationship with our food we may be able to waste less and conserve more energy, without sacrificing design aesthetics.
“Observing the food and therefore changing the notion of food preservation, we could find the answer to current situations such as the overuse of energy and food wastage. My design is a tool to implement that knowledge in a tangible way and slowly it changes the bigger picture of society. I believe that once people are given a tool that triggers their minds and requires a mental effort to use it, new traditions and new rituals can be introduced into our culture.” - Jihyun Ryou
Her beautifully designed storage shelves aim to “re-introduce and re-evaluate traditional oral knowledge of food, which is closer to nature. Furthermore, it aims to bring back the connection between different levels of living beings, we as human beings and food ingredients as other living beings.”
For instance, the egg holder shelf includes a drop down cup of water to test the eggs. A ripe egg will always sink in water, so before breaking it open you can check to see its freshness. There is also a set of spice jars equipped with lids that hang down small bags of rice inside the jar. The rice is said to absorb humidity and keep the spices dry. There is even a hybrid apple/potato holder which keeps potatoes in a dark cabinet. Particularly focusing on the food preservation, it looks at a feasible way of bringing that knowledge into everyday life.
[source: save food from the refrigerator]
power swing
A pop-up art installation outside the International Centre for the Arts in Guimarães, Portugal, the art collective Moradavaga added a modern, industrial twist to the swing set. What was used to be a self-contained pleasure of swinging - where the work and reward are equal, Moradavaga has installed a little bit of light, powered solely by the motion of the swings. Creating the perfect blend of power technology and energy efficiency with a favorite childhood pastime.
According to the company’s website:
SWING, is an interactive and playful installation conceived by Moradavaga for the Pop Up Culture program promoted by Guimarães 2012 - European Capital of Culture.
Based on the principle of swinging to produce electricity, SWING is also an ode to the rich industrial heritage of Guimarães, reflected in its mechanical devices and sounds evocative of the ones once produced in the factories of the city.
The base structure, made of re-usable wooden pallets (sponsored by Palsystems), serves as a podium for the swings at the same time that it contains the hidden electrical system. Traditional hemp rope, wooden beams, bicycle chains, wheels, dynamos and lights complete the material palette used in the installation giving it an “old-style” look and a low-tech kind of feel.
thinking outside the [cardboard] box
Israeli engineer and systems developer Izhar Gafni has reinvented cardboard into a mode of transportation. The result is a bicycle that’s strong, lightweight, visually appealing and costs roughly $16 to manufacture.
Three years ago Gafni began the development of the Cardboard Bicycle. “Since there was no know-how with regards to the cardboard material, the first two years were devoted to learning the properties and behaviour of the material,” explains Gafni.
“The idea is like Japanese origami,” he says in the video (click the image below). “You fold it once and then it doesn’t become twice the strength, it’s almost three times the strength. So I took it from there and did the same thing with cardboard.”
After the shape has been cut out, the cardboard is treated with a waterproof and fireproof coating formulated by Gafni, before lacquer paint is applied over the top.
The “urban bike” for adults weighs under 20 pounds, while the kids’ bike weighs less than 8 pounds. Each are made almost entirely from recycled materials and in the future cyclists will have the option to add an electric motor, according to the ERB website.
Gafni’s business partner, Israeli investment group ERB, is currently raising funds and developing the bicycle for production.
More information from Gafni’s business partner, ERB:
The Cardboard Bicycle Project is a new, revolutionary and green concept to produce bicycles made of durable recycled cardboard. ERB is an active partner which manages all the business and financial aspects of this project. ERB leads the worldwide business activity of the cardboard bicycle in Israel and abroad.
The first commercial model of the bicycle is designed for large companies as a vehicle for their employees and for large cities as a cheap, light-weight vehicle. Parallel to those, the electric model is being developed.
The Cardboard Bicycle can withstand water and humidity. Part of our unique technology enables us to create a product that looks like it is made out of hard lightweight polymer. The bike is stronger than carbon fiber and can carry riders weighing up to 485 pounds.
have a ‘greener’ halloween
Halloween is right around the corner and before you know it, you’ll be getting handfuls of little four-foot monsters, ghosts, and ghouls knocking on your door. And that means a lot of candy with questionable ingredients and excessive waste. Here at Foerstel we are committed to helping you live a healthier lifestyle with a reduced impact on Mother Earth, so we’d like to share some tips on how to have a ‘greener’ Halloween!
candy + treats
Look for natural candy and when possible Fair Trade certified sweets. A great resource for this is Natural Candy Store, a family-run business located in California and THE online place to go to find vegan and organic candy. All of the items are clearly marked with symbols to identify what categories they fall into, including those made in the US. Additionally, every piece they sell contains NO artificial colors or dyes, NO artificial flavors, NO artificial sweeteners, NO preservatives, NO hydrogenated oils. Check them out, you still have a several days to place your order just in time for Halloween.
energy themed jack-o-lanterns
This year ,show your dedication to reducing energy usage! In lieu of a scary face or spider, opt to carve a pumpkin with an energy theme. Choose from five downloadable designs by EnergySaver.gov and then use flameless LED to illuminate.
© Ramon Gonzalez
toting your treats
Easily grab a reusable grocery bag or decorate a paper bag or get creative this time around and make your own candy bucket out of recycled items found around your home using this treat bucket tutorial.
costumes
Check your local area for costume swaps, borrow costumes from friends, get creative and make your own - Pinterest is a great source for inspiration, visit a local thrift store where you’ll save money and reduce packaging waste. Also, be sure to avoid any costumes containing PVC, which is harmful to the environment and you.
Swapping half of the costumes kids wear at Halloween
would reduce annual landfill waste by 6, 250 tons,
equal to the weight of 2,500 mid-sized cars*
*via Bob Lilienfeld, based on data from U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Transportation. Assumes costume weight of 1 pound
