This sustainable packaging design is made from discarded pineapple leaves that grow into a new plant!

Single-use plastic is one of the biggest contributors to ocean pollution – it makes up for more than 50% of the plastic waste problem. I am constantly looking for innovative packaging designs that can inspire the design community to continue building on sustainable solutions and I am adding Sprout to that list! It is an environmentally-friendly packaging that aims to contribute to the growth of local plants. I also love that the design is interactive – you can learn about the seeds and plant them instead of discarding the packaging!

Sprout’s plantable feature ensures that its life does not end right after consumption; its purpose continuously changes before, during, and after use – it’s where circular economy meets sustainable design. Each seed was selected after intense research to pick those that are non-invasive and would be seamlessly embedded in the Pinyapel material. Pinyapel is a specialty paper made of discarded pineapple leaves and was the result of an initiative led by the Design Center of the Philippines to give local communities and resources a boost. Mangulabnan ensures proper composting and planting is possible by using organic soy ink for the printing as well as an edible starch wrapper to further protect the food item inside the package.

This also addressed the issue of agricultural waste accumulating in the country, especially since the Philippines is one of the largest producers of pineapple fruit in the world. Sprout’s design will help eliminate unnecessary waste and encourage locals to actively contribute to the preservation of the diverse Philippine flora. Through the use of design, consumers can interact better with the product, giving them a sense of fulfillment and responsibility, as well as reinforce a positive behavioral change to further avoid littering and other harmful habits that

Designer: Pat Mangulabnan

This quirky jar turns your tea-leaves into soil, and the teaspoon into a sapling!

I’ve been pretty vocal about my love for Qualy Design’s products and how they reinterpret mundane objects as beautiful, desirable keepsakes. The Sprout Jar is yet another example of how Qualy Design has this innate tendency to view products around them with an almost childlike curiosity, turning them from regular products into designs with depth, and emotional storytelling value. Unlike your run-of-the-mill jars, the Sprout Jar comes with a sprout-shaped spoon fixed into its cap. Designed for things like tea-leaves, ground coffee, dried herbs, or anything that would look like soil (I guess brown-sugar would work too!), the jar comes with a design that’s meant to be placed on counters inverted. When flipped over, the leaves/grounds/herbs form a base layer around the sprout-shaped spoon, making it look like a sapling emerging from the ground! The clear-plastic container also comes with a slightly domed top, making it look almost like a bell-jar that’s encasing a mini terrarium within!

Designer: Qualy Design

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Here’s an Innovative Little Grip That Helps You Easily Sprout Avocado Seeds

If you’ve seen enough food and craft videos on Facebook, you know that the correct way to sprout an avocado (or most seeds, tubers, roots, or shoots for that matter) is to submerge it halfway in a glass of water. The usual trick is to prod the avocado seed with four toothpicks, and precariously balance it on the rim of a glass filled with water. Once the sapling starts sprouting, you can transfer it to a planter with soil. Noga Toren’s solution ditches the toothpicks for something more elegant, and versatile.

The Planty cleverly relies on a flexible form and the springing property of metal. It comes with an outer metal rim, four triggers, and inner arms that flex open in an aperture-ish style when you press the triggers. Use it to grip an avocado seed, a potato, onion, half a cabbage, pineapple, or anything you’d like to sprout. The six arms gently grip the plant without damaging it, and the outer rim allows it to sit on top of a glass of water till the sprouting is done. Once you see tiny roots and stems developing, transfer it into the soil and watch as it sprouts into a healthy plant!

Designer: Noga Toren

HP’s 3D-scanning Sprout Pro PC is built for schools

HP originally pitched its 3D-scanning Sprout computer to creatives and hobbyists, but doesn't it seem like an ideal machine for curious classrooms? The company agrees, apparently. It's introducing the Sprout Pro, a version of the unique all-in-one...

Inside the Nike+ Accelerator: Fueling the quantified-self movement

Inside the Nike Accelerator Fueling the quantifiedself movement

Imagine setting aside three months of your life to pursue a dream. As romantic as the idea may seem, it requires a gut check somewhere along the way. Recently, a handful of entrepreneurs said goodbye to their families and loved ones, and in some cases, flew across the globe for an opportunity to do just that. Some put their budding companies on hold, while others came only with an unwavering belief in their idea. In all, 10 companies converged on the Nike+ Accelerator in Portland, Ore., this past March, each united with the goal of building products that integrate with Nike's line of fitness trackers.

DNP Inside the Nike Accelerator Fueling the quantifiedself movementIt's hard to underestimate the sacrifice, or the opportunity. With less than three weeks to relocate, many had to act quickly. But with a vote of confidence from Nike and its accelerator partner, TechStars, support from a vast network of mentors and industry contacts -- and just as importantly, early access to the Nike+ API -- it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a head start over the competition in the burgeoning wearables industry.

From the moment these entrepreneurs touched ground at PDX, the clock was already running. In just 12 weeks, they'd pitch their products to potential investors at Demo Day -- first in Portland on June 10th, and again in San Francisco on the 20th. It's a lot to accomplish in three months, and certainly unfamiliar territory for Nike as well. But even amidst the breakneck speed, one must hit the pause button and ponder Nike's motivation behind the accelerator. Ten companies were certainly given an upper hand, but can the same be said for Nike itself?

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Sprout Pencil Sprouts Herbs and Veggies from the Stubby End

Whoever invented pencils didn’t really think things through. Everything’s all good at the start, but what happens when the pencil gets too short and stubby that you can’t really use it to write comfortably?

That’s where the folks behind the Sprout Pencil come in.

Sprout

You see, the Sprout is no ordinary pencil. Embedded on the end where the eraser is supposed to be is a seed capsule instead. So when the pencil gets too short for comfort, you can just stick the stub into a pot of soil or compost and water it to grow your own little plant.

The Sprouts come in many different varieties, including some of your favorite herbs and vegetables. You can leave the pencil in the soil to serve as a planting marker or you can throw it out if you want to.

Sprout1

Sprout was launched on Kickstarter last September. It exceeded the funding goal that was set and is currently in production. If you missed it then, don’t worry, because the team behind it are getting ready to offer Sprout for sale online and in stores.