Where design and sustainability cross paths

  • Share on Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • (0) Comments

Getting Closer to Downloadable Furniture

foldschool1

foldschool2

foldschool3

Design might not get any more practical or accessible than this.  The Swiss-based online furniture initiative known as Foldschool, allows one to download free plans of a foldable stool, chair, or rocker for the small set, and then construct the pieces at home, with self-sourced (i.e., recycled!) cardboard.  Led by architect/designer/bike messenger Nicola Enrico Stäubli, with some support from an IKEA foundation, the group clearly has sustainability as its primary tenet, as they proclaim “Mass culture is run by superficiality and ecological absurdity”,  and “The mindset of foldschool is to restore design to one of its original missions: to provide a product at an affordable price through a smart manufacturing process.” With this strong mission behind them, it’s no surprise that Foldschool has been getting so much attention within the green design and DIY world.

By streamlining their approach to the point that users can download and print design plans, and then construct usable furniture out of everyday cardboard, Stäubli and his team suggest what the future may have in store for contemporary design if viewed through a simpler lens.  To literally have all the tools at ones’ fingertips, means that we may someday have a more democratized manufacturing  process with less dependency on resource-sapping large-scale infrasctructure.  Some note that  widely available and affordable home-based CNC’s run by your PC, are not too far from reality, although if adopted, they too may raise their own set of questions.  Meanwhile, if you think you want to try your hand at one (or all) of their designs, go on over to Foldschool to download your plans today.  It will be interesting to see how this group evolves, and what products they may have in store for us in the future!

  • Share on Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • (0) Comments

Sustainable Group Greens the Office one Binder at a Time

sustainable group cd sleeve

sus group pla badge holder

Sustainable Group produces a range of locally-made environmentally responsible office products from sustainable sources (with high post consumer/industrial content), in an effort to provide a sensible high quality alternative to the vinyl and plastic-based products on the market, and they have a thoughtful Environmental Mission Statement to support their approach. Founded by Brad Hole and based in Seattle, their initial product was the REBINDER, a 3-ring binder with a cover made of recycled corrugated cardboard, which can be easily disassembled and (recycled) at end of use, thanks to the use of simple screws and t-nuts. Since the launch of the binder, their product line has expanded to include RESLEEVE cd/dvd cases made from recycled chip board, REBADGE, a line of PLA-based badge holders, and their own brand of card stock for business cards and marketing materials, called RESTOCK. All products are screen printing capable, allowing companies to apply their own individual logo, etc on a product’s cover.

Considering how easy it is to recycle their products, not to mention the recycled content itself, Sustainable Group has a potentially large role to play in making the office supply market more environmentally responsible. By demonstrating to individuals, corporations, and the event and tradeshow industries in particular, that a range of environmentally sound and accessible alternatives exists, to the many toxic and non-recyclable products flooding the market, this company will help gradually stem the tide of non-recycled waste. A further indication of how seriously Sustainable Group takes its mission, is their alignment with 100% Replanted, to offset the use of the virgin fiber (and the trees from which it derives) within the corrugated cardboard of the REBINDER covers. Some of the notable entities that take this issue seriously, and have chosen to use Sustainable Group’s products include Nike, Urban Outfitters, , L.L. Bean, Timberland, and NRDC.