Old Objects Fit New Purposes

Cigarette box toaster from Kingston Penitentiary.

iPod Nano case by Contexture Design.

The Royal Ontario Museum presented an exciting exhibition of creative redesign, playfully entitled Cut/Paste. Curated by Motherbrand, this display showed work that is made from salvaged and reused objects that have found new, creative niches.

What once may have been considered obsolete or of-the-past were repurposed to have more up-to-date functions. Cofounder of Motherbrand, Todd Falkowsky, says “Environmental sustainability is an issue that most of these designs address in some way. This is a powerful tactic for reducing our consumption of energy and materials; it forces us to reconsider what we consider waste.” This strategy, rumored to be the way of the future, is sure to successfully deal with the growing pressures from the struggling economy and environment.

The Cut/Paste exhibit ran from January 20th to 31st of 2010.

Via TreeHugger.

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It Tastes Fishy, but It’s Sustainable!

Sun-dried squid bottles. Image via Inventor Spot.

The traditional Ika Tokkuri sake bottles, which are incredibly eco-friendly, are currently going through a revival in Japan. What makes them so green? The Ika Tokkuri bottles are made from squid. The squid skins are stuffed with grains of rice and then sun-dried until it can hold its own form. When using the squid skin bottle, you’ll inevitably get a slight fishy taste. That’s perfectly alright for many though, since this has been said to make the drink smoother and milder. Each bottle can be used 5 to 6 times and (to ensure that nothing goes to waste) can even be eaten afterwards!

Via Inventor Spot and Core77.

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A More Subtle Shade of Green – NeoCon 2009

Although this year’s Neocon did heavily encourage and promote Green awareness,  the information was pretty low-key and more about practical integration rather than simply a necessary marketing strategy.  This was also seen in the roll-out of new designs, exhibitions and strategies for businesses-from small to big.  As companies like Steelcase and Herman Miller (seen below) have spent years integrating sustainable practices, they therefore seem able to go back to focusing on design aesthetics, functionality and ergonomics as talking points.

Several other companies promoted their “healthy”, “earth-friendly” or “naturally inspired” products, tagging several certifications along the way such as UGBC, C2C, FSC, Greenguard, Greenspec etc.  As Penny Bonda recommended in NeoCon: Through a Green Lense, “Remember, as you engage with showroom personnel, to ask: Where did the product come from? What is it made of? How is it made? How is it maintained? What happens to it at the end of its life? How much energy does it use?”.

I would be very interested if anyone spent much time on this and/or concurrently, what they were told.  It seems those aforementioned rating systems are insufficient to not only answering these important questions, but also to ensuring their validity and consistency.

On a biased note, it was good to see Ecolect’s Materials PettingZoo™ there, as this is a good start in the direction of transparency, accessibility to information and specific materials, and most importantly – CHOICES.  As design student Elizabeth Wheeler commented, “The interactive element of The Petting Zoo was really helpful and I got more ideas about what I can design using more eco-friendly materials”.

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Going Green at The Home Housewares Show, Chicago 3.22.09

New Soap, Old Bottle

Scott Amron is at it again. This time reusing plastic bottles. His new company New Soap, Old Bottle is selling brand name liquid soap packaged in old plastic soda bottles, plastic water bottles, and beer bottles to help clean up our environments. Each bottle is cleaned, sanitized and processed for reuse as packaging for common brands of liquid soap.

“Big companies aren’t going to do this on their own, so we’ll do it for them. All bottles are packaged here in America.”
– Scott Amron

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Going Green At The Home Housewares Show, Chicago 3.22.09

This years Home Housewares Show is once again big, expansive, overwhelming, extraneous, wasteful, etc., but it also included many new green products and materials, giving hope to those of us who desire change.

They featured 50 of the most sustainable products in a separate display and had several speakers to present the “latest thinking on green design and practice”.  CA Webb from Preserve shared the reality of having a successful business based on the re-use of materials and also discussed the importance of transparent practice and straightforward information when developing an authentic relationship with the consumer. Accordingly, Howie Fendley from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, discussed eliminating the concept of waste, which is vital to America utilizing it’s by-products more efficiently and effectively.

Seeing so many thousands of products presented at the show, I can’t help but hope that very soon all of these companies integrate and prioritize a higher level of green innovation and responsibility.  The effects would be far-reaching and could actually benefit the company, as well as the consumer and the environment.

Top 10 eco-items scouted at the Housewares Show:

1. EZ Bagz – 100% biodegradable trash bags in 12-24 months, even in a landfill and they are actually puncture resistant, affordable and sold everywhere!

2. Ecologic dishware – made from bamboo fibers.

3. Aladdin Recycled and Recyclable Plastic Products – coffee tumbler.

4. Twist – a collection of natural sponges and cleaning clothes.

5.  Zak designs – Confetti – recycled melamine dishware.

6. EcoGen – durable, affordable and biodegradable products for the home.

7. Pedrini – Eco-line – the first line of biodegradable kitchen tools.

8. Blue Avocado – cool kit grow bags – a compacting system of all the bags you need.

9. “Power Plant” by Prepara – very attractive, good for indoor air quality and automatically dispenses nutrients.

10. Oots – 100% recycled fiber and handmade seed paper for boxes, bags, place-mats etc.  They also make a great baby bib that covers a larger surface area – the bbib.

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Amron Experimental.

It’s always great to highlight some fun and inspiring creations from artists and designers who are pushing the environmental envelope. Here are a few concepts and products from Scott Amron. Scott is based in New York and dubs himself an electrical engineer, designer, conceptual artist, inventor and founding principal of Amron Experimental. When browsing his collection of different ideas and products, we couldn’t help but smiling. For package fill material, Scott used “leaves from real New York trees”. The quote below best describes the idea…

“Freshly fallen autumn leaves from real new york trees will be used as void-fill (packing) in all amron exptl. Product shipments placed between November 15th and December 23rd. Autumn foliage falls just in time for Christmas shipments. Consumers from all over the world get a taste of autumn in new york at no additional charge. For people who’d prefer to skip the merchandise an go straight to the mulch… I offer box o’ leaves.”

Beyond packaging, there’s an option for replacing typical light bulbs and a simple wallet made from, well… money. A quick browse through amronexperimental.com will certainly give any designer some inspiration to think outside the box or simply have a good laugh.

For more info visit amronexperimental.com.

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Materials from Detergent Bottles, Swimming Pool Covers, and Old Tires

Yemm & Hart, based in Missouri, offers many unique products featuring their own materials made from common recycled items such as detergent bottles, swimming pool covers, and tires.  Their three lines of materials create unique and colorful products that can be used by anyone.  One decorative material, known as Origins, is created from discarded detergent bottles.  Unlike other plastic laminate products with patterns that are printed on to create a uniform design, Yemm & Hart’s products made from their Origins line, have a more random coloring pattern.

The creation of Origins involves many steps.  Used bottles are collected, sorted by color, shredded into very small pieces, and then soaked in hot water to remove any contamination such as soap or paper labels.  Sorting the bottles by color during this preparation process, allows for color pattern customization.  A measured amount of blended colors is then spread into a mold, placed in an oven, and heated until it transformed into a liquid.  Pressure is then applied, which causes distribution of the colored flakes.  The pattern comes out differently every time for each product, and the colors used tend to be very vibrant, which Yemm & Hart believes is a key selling point for this material line, making them stand out from other products on the market.  In the end, they are pleasing to the eye, and more desirable than typically one-colored recycled items.  Products range from countertops, casegoods, lighting and tables, to smaller items such as clipboards and picture frames.

YEMM & HART

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What is the Green Retail Experience?

This weekend and into early this week I browsed the International Home & Housewares Association show here in Chicago. The show consisted of a smattering of home appliances and products- new, old, and green. To my delight, the headlining topics of nearly all panel discussions and talks were focussed on the future of sustainability in product design. Two talks really stuck with me: “Green Today, Here Tomorrow: the emotional currency of sustainability”, and “Making it Happen: exhibitors panel discussion on sustainable materials”. The result was a cathartic dialogue I’d like to open up to you: what is the green retail experience?

My thoughts arose from questions presented from the buyers in the home appliance industry regarding the friction between novelty and sustainability. We have created through supply and demand, the experience of walking into a store and expecting to see new seasonal products. We anticipate seasonal colors, products, and innovation. This experience has resulted in a lot of new products developed in haste and without much regard for environmental responsibility. The question is, how can retailers maintain the “new” experience while being a sustainability leader.

Designer, professor, and sustainable materials panelist Hans Maier Aichen of Design Ideas suggests to define the evolution of a product through details. “We need to do less and do better”. As designers, we have a heavy responsibility. Today our industry is overflowing with an excess of products (this i witnessed at the show while passing manufacturers exhibiting, for example, every single microwave they produce- i saw walls of rice makers, toasters, coffee makers, microwaves all noticeably different but functionally similar), this excess has created cut-throat competition, and has resulted in unsustainable low prices.  As we move into the generation of green retail with responsible products, how do we lead by designing and formulating the green retail experience?

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