Tag Archives: eco friendly design

Using banana peels as a sustainable building material, you can now make everything from eyeglasses to watch straps!

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Along with apples, bananas are the most popular fruits in the world. More than 100 billion bananas are eaten every year, with most of us consuming about 30 pounds worth of bananas every year– that’s bananas. But what happens to all the banana peels we toss out after eating the fruit? Generally, if thrown outdoors, it can take up to two years for banana peels to biodegrade. Sarah Harbarth, a designer based in Switzerland, saw the potential in turning banana peels into a sustainable source of construction material, calling it KUORI.

Harbarth was able to create four distinct products that are entirely compostable and made from banana peels. Harbarth’s first product shows a pair of eyeglasses that swap out a tortoise-shell frame for a banana speckled marble one. Then, in combining recycled PLA material with banana peels, Harbarth produced a 3D printing filament from which one can print anything they’d like. The third product Harbarth created through KUORI is the shoe sole made entirely from banana peels, solving the problem of micro-plastics rubbing off onto the ground as we walk in our street shoes. By replacing the micro-plastic that forms our shoe soles with banana peels, Harbarth created a sole that not only doesn’t disrupt the soil we walk on but feeds it as well. Lastly, in confronting the harmful practice of making leather goods, Harbarth designed a sustainable, vegan, and recyclable leather alternative, which she showcased in the form of a watch strap.

While the time it takes for decomposition to run its course depends on environmental factors, natural litter can have an adverse effect on critters that take to munching on fruit peels and therefore the environment as a whole. With all the bananas we enjoy every year, that same amount is then turned into waste. In order to lengthen the life cycle of bananas and combat the harmful and wasteful practices of making leather goods from animal skins, Harbarth was able to create goods like phone cases and watch straps entirely from banana peels. Upon recognizing the intricate ways in which we contribute to harming the environment through practices like leather making, 3D printing, and micro-plastic construction, Harbarth looked to using banana peels to produce goods instead.

Designer: Sarah Harbarth

By turning banana peels into an alternative building material, like leather, KUORI is sustainable, vegan, and saves resources.

“The result [of KUORI] is four products that are 100% compostable and made from the banana peel as an original food waste byproduct.”

In creating products out of banana peels like eyeglasses, KUORI feeds nature instead of taking from it.

“Due to the fiber composite of the Banana peel in the material, the resulting product has a higher stability compared to ordinary PLA.”

Most shoe soles are constructed using micro-plastics that rub off on the ground we walk.

“The resulting shoe sole is very elastic and returns to its original position. The material was poured into a mold and then hardened out.”

Confronting harmful practices like bleaching leather hides, KUORI offers a sustainable alternative.

“My concept represents a sustainable, resource-saving, organic and vegan, recyclable alternative to animal leather.”

This terracotta container provides a natural & energy-efficient way to store produce!

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The trend of growing microgreens and herbs at home has come with its own set of pros and cons – people are starting to grow their own food to be more green but the food storage solutions are starting to get more complex and not green. DUNSTA was designed to bring the age-old tradition of storing fresh produce in a natural way while being aligned with your modern lifestyle. It uses evaporative cooling to create an environment similar to that of the root cellar, but for an urban living arrangement – so your fruits and vegetables will stay crispy and fresh longer without needing electricity!

Terracotta is baked clay, it is natural, high-quality, and maintenance-friendly material that is sustainably made as it doesn’t exploit natural resources like trees or need a high carbon footprint generating things like electricity during its production. Terracotta has distinct red and orange hues due to its iron content and is a porous form of clay. It is preferred in design because the manufacturing process is very simple, sustainable, and eco-friendly – it does not include any harmful chemicals and therefore is the perfect choice to store your food in. DUNSTA keeps the environment inside cool with a base layer of sand and a little channel on the top where you can add water. Once covered with the lid, your produce will remain fresh without the need for plastic wraps or containers.

While terracotta is eco-friendly it is important to remember that it is not biodegradable. This means nothing will happen to the DUNSTA even after multiple centuries because it will not degenerate into the soil as clay does so you can also use it as a sustainable time capsule!

Designer: Alexandra Fransson

This minimal electric two-wheeler delivers the striking combination of technical quality and low waste design!

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Nowadays, electric scooters belong in cities like boats belong on the water. Some scooters prioritize aesthetics, some cater to environmental sustainability, some just have a need for speed. Then, there are some special designs in circulation today that do it all, delivering both sustainability and aesthetics, as well as an in on the fast lane. NAON, a Berlin-based company devoted to spearheading the sustainable shift in personal mobility, strikes that ideal balance with their new electric two-wheeler prototype called Zero-One.

Taking on a minimalist approach to design, Zero-One’s lightweight feel was purposeful for NAON. Speaking to this, the design team says, “By utilizing functional components as key styling elements, we are able to simplify our product and apply more focus on refining every detail.” For instance, the scooter’s motor is found in the rear wheel’s hub, which gives Zero-One not only better traction and smoother acceleration but also an overall stealthier appearance. With the main motor located in the scooter’s rear wheel, no chains or belts are needed to generate additional moving power. The 7 kW motor is accompanied by 200Nm worth of torque so that no matter the traffic, with Zero-One, you can beat it. One look at this design tells you the designer has stripped away everything unnecessary, leaving behind what is needed in a modern yet sleek case, from the suspensions, the handle, and wrapped till the back too.

As far as speed is concerned, NAON offers two versions of Zero-One, offering different top speeds. The first version, L1e is limited to around 28mph due to street regulations and licensing setbacks. The second version called the L3e offers speeds upwards of 60mph to give each morning’s commute a proper boost. Each Zero-One comes ready with a single, detachable 2.4kWh battery located in the scooter’s footrest, which equips each scooter with just over 12 miles to each full charge. If riders hope to increase their mileage, adding a second battery will double each full charge’s range.

Manufacturing Zero-One produces minimal waste thanks to the combination of recyclable and responsibly sourced construction material – locally manufactured onsite in Berlin, NAON sourced recyclable material to construct Zero-One to maintain a small footprint. Love is in the details when it comes to Zero-One. The scooter’s transparent leg shield, for example, not only offers a refreshing, new perspective for riders and onlookers but was also built to be scratch-resistant and filter UV rays. Additionally, equipped with a high-end brake and suspension system as well as a low overall center of gravity, Zero-One’s two-person bench keeps the balance for a steady ride. City scooters are generally known for their heft and bulk, but everything about Zero-One is light: its matte-smooth body, low overall footprint, and aluminum frame.

Designer: NAON

Charge your Tesla and lower your electric bill with these solar blinds!

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Renewable energy is our ticket to the future and the current climate crisis. From electric cars to sustainable tools, designers are changing the world for the better one product at a time. Joining that list are these Solar Blinds from SolarGaps that make your home smarter and your environment better. If you want to charge your Tesla without increasing your bill, this should be your first buy.

Solar Blinds help you save on your energy costs and reduces your electric bill by 30% compared to conventional energy usage costs, in simpler terms that is a third of your air conditioning bill if you live in a hot climate. These blinds can generate 100W per 1sqm which is enough to charge a smartphone, a laptop or power a tv. Solar Blinds also help you to massively reduce your carbon footprint – 1 sqm of solar energy can prevent 100 gms of carbon emissions. Now imagine the impact if your entire neighborhood will have if everyone installs these blinds. The blinds are meant for the future and they are created to be smart, you can control them with an app on your phone and they are also compatible with Amazon Alexa or Google Home. Another cool feature is that these solar-powered blinds can be used as an alarm clock in the morning by setting them at the time you want them to open.

“The idea to combine solar panels and blinds struck me when I saw sunflowers in the field turning to face the sun. With my invention, I wanted to claim that everyone is responsible for saving our planet,” says Yevgen Erik, CEO of SolarGaps and I love how being an accountable citizen of this world is now more accessible with his design.

Designer: SolarGaps

Phillipe Starck’s Broom – A sustainable chair that swept away industrial waste like magic

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Here is some food for thought – what if our leftovers could be turned to functional furniture that looked food? I mean good, that looked good! Phillipe Starck is a French designer which means he eats really good food and has managed to turn the leftovers into some really good chairs called the Broom for Emeco. Global food waste (aka leftovers) is twice as high as predicted reports CNN but leftovers don’t necessarily mean just food – it is any waste that ends up in the trash and the solution to waste management lies in creative, sustainable design. The Broom is a fine example of just that! Recycled, recyclable and designed to last – this is where rubbish becomes responsible.

The relationship between Phillipe Starck and Emeco is what turned the company from just a US Navy supplier to a coveted furniture design brand. “Working with Emeco has allowed me to use recycled material and transform it into something that never needs to be discarded – a tireless and unbreakable chair to use and enjoy for a lifetime,” says Starck who believes every creator has a duty to the society. Emeco uses recycled aluminum, recycled PET, reclaimed wood polypropylene, eco-concrete, and cork. In fact, the Broom chair is made of 90% reclaimed waste polypropylene and wood fiber that would normally be swept into the trash – hence the name!

Broom is the ingenious result of a design collaboration that both avoids and eliminates waste. It is made from a compound of industrial waste from lumber factories and industrial plastic plants – 75% waste polypropylene and 15% reclaimed wood that usually ends up in the trash. It checks all the boxes for sustainable furniture with its three-fold environmental impact – less energy, less waste, and less carbon. “With the Broom chair, it is about less and more. We chose less – less “style”, less “design”, less material, less waste, less energy. And so, the Broom chair became so much more” says Starck when talking about the design process to make a chair that does more than being a surface to sit on.

The Broom comes in 6 colors, can be stacked easily, perfect for outdoor use and very low maintenance (honestly, just clean with soapy water and wipe with a soft cloth).  The wood particles create a speckled texture that gives the surface a warmer, more natural touch, each chair will have its own unique textured pattern. Wood is good, polypropylene is not so good, but the combination made from the two gives us a material that lasts like synthetic but has the spirit of nature. This is sourced from woodshops and plastic producing worksites, it is then cleaned, compressed and transformed into a wood composite that works for the environment instead of harming it.

“Imagine”, says Philippe Starck, “a guy who takes a humble broom and starts to clean the workshop and with this dust he makes new magic” and we bet JK Rowling will agree that brooms are truly magic.

Designer: Philippe Starck for Emeco.