Tag Archives: Green/Sustainable

This smart sustainable kitchen cutting board has 10 features including a 99.99% germ-killing UVC light!

Posted on by

Chop it like its hot! I’ve always wanted to say that but this chopping board truly is one of the best designs I’ve seen and it is 100% going on the top of my kitchen essentials list. Chopbox is a smart chopping board that has so many unique features but the most relevant one in these ‘unprecedented times’ is the fact that it can actually kill germs on your cooking tools and space! Get rid of counter clutter and those extra kitchen accessories with this much-needed upgrade.

You can easily sanitize your knives and cutting surfaces, embrace your inner quarantine chef with germ-free cooking thanks to Chopbox’s built-in disinfecting UVC light – see I told you, this board is lit and literally! We clean our knives but do we ever think about the germs in knife blocks or the crevices of our cutting boards? With Chopbox all you have to do place your knife in between the two cutting surfaces and activate the small but powerful 254nm UVC light that can sanitize up to 3 knives at once as well as both the cutting surfaces. “Just one minute of UVC light exposure is guaranteed to kill 99.99% of germs and bacteria. The 254nm UVC light used in the ChopBox is small and has a limited angle with only a small gap in the boards when in use. It is 100% safe for all humans to be around and near this light. The UVC light will automatically switch off when you separate the two boards or you can press the second button on the control panel to turn it off. You will receive no negative side effects from this UVC light,” says the team.

With two cutting surfaces, you can switch between veggies and meat to avoid cross-contamination. Use the smaller cutting board for food scraps, as a side piece to store chopped produce, or for transferring the ingredients to the stove. The clever design even lets you replace the main cutting surface when needed. Another interesting feature of Chopbox is that it can also weigh your food with a built-in scale. The middle button on the control panel is used to switch between grams, ounces, pounds, kilograms, and a tare function for accuracy so you always have the right portions. Kitchen timers are not revolutionary but this one is integrated on the surface itself and can run for 9 hours! Chopbox also has two replaceable knife sharpeners on the right edge of the board – one is made with a diamond stone and the other is made with a ceramic stone so you adjust your level of sharpness accordingly.

Chopbox is not only smart, but it is also strong and can hold 150 pounds of weight. It is crafted sustainably using bamboo wood which was used for its hard density, durability, and affordability. The board and its replaceable parts are all 100% recyclable as sustainability is important to the designers and the consumers. It runs on a 3000 mAh battery that lasts for 30 days of daily use on a one-hour charge cycle. It is also waterproof and is rated IPX7 which means it can withstand being in water up to 3 feet deep! Since this is a smart cutting board with batteries and other tech features, it is not meant to be put in a dishwasher as the heat will cause damage to an otherwise long-lasting, multifunctional appliance. Even Gordon Ramsay will only have nice things to say about Chopbox!

Designer: Chopbox

Click Here to Buy Now: $119 $199 (40% off). Raised over $2,190,940!

ChopBox: Smart Cutting Board With 10 Features

This cutting board kills germs, weighs your food, and more! Sustainable design, Replaceable parts.

chopbox1

Chopbox protects you against germs and bacteria

Did you know that knife blocks, drawers, and even regular cutting boards harbor tons of bacteria and germs? It seems like no one talks about it, but the hidden germs in your kitchen are very real.

The revolutionary ChopBox makes sanitizing your knives and cutting surfaces easy and brings germ-free cooking to your kitchen with a built-in disinfecting UVC light in the cutting board. Traditional knife blocks and cutting boards with gouges and scrapes can harbor harmful bacteria and germs. But who thinks to sanitize their knife after grabbing it? Now you can place your knife in between the two cutting surfaces and activate the small but powerful 254nm UVC light to sanitize up to 3 knives at once AND both cutting surfaces at the same time! Just one minute of UVC light exposure is guaranteed to kill 99.99% of germs and bacteria.

The 254nm UVC light used in the ChopBox is small and has a limited angle with only a small gap in the boards when in use. It is 100% safe for all humans to be around and near this light. The UVC light will automatically switch off when you separate the two boards or you can press the second button on the control panel to turn it off. You will receive no negative side effects from this UVC light

Replaces 5 Kitchen Gadgets

chopbox

Instead of needing up to five single-use gadgets and tools in your kitchen, the ChopBox combines all five into one amazing cutting board. You’ll never need to find or store smaller single-use tools like a food scale or kitchen timer again and will have more room for storage and organization in your kitchen.

Two Boards in One: Double up your space and avoid cross-contamination.

chopbox2

With two cutting surfaces, you can switch between raw meat and seafood to other foods without ever having to worry about cross-contamination. You can also use the smaller cutting board for food scraps, as an area to store cut foods, and for transferring your chopped food to the stove. The main cutting surface is replaceable. Buy parts via Kickstarter, or from Amazon after the campaign.

Scale: Built-in digital scale weighs up to 6.6 pounds

 chopbox3

The built-in scale is part of the cutting board on the left-hand side. You can measure your ingredients in grams, ounces, pounds, kilograms and the scale weighs up to 6.6 pounds. Always get the exact right portion! The middle button on the control panel is used to switch between grams, ounces, pounds, kilograms with a single long-press. The scale features a tare function. To zero out the scale for a bowl or other vessel, just place the bowl on the scale and press the third (middle) button on the control panel to zero out the scale so that you’re only weighing the goof, not the container.

Timer: 9-hour kitchen timer

chopbox4

Your food will come out perfectly every time with our 9 -hour digital kitchen timer built-in to the ChopBox. Unlike traditional kitchen timers which can only go up to 59 minutes, the ChopBox timer has a longer readout and can be set for up to 9 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, so even big meals and slow cooker meals can be set on this timer.

Knife Sharpeners: Dual Inset Knife Sharpeners

chopbox5

It’s tough to remember where you put that small knife sharpener or know you’re using the honing steel type of sharpener correctly, so we made it easier than ever by putting two knife sharpeners right on the side of the cutting board. They are easily accessible and simple to use. There are two different knife sharpeners built into the ChopBox. One is made from diamond stone, and the other is made of ceramic stone, so you can pick your level of sharpness. The sharpeners are replaceable. Buy parts via Kickstarter or from Amazon after the campaign.

Groove for catching runoff

There is a groove surrounding the cutting surface on the larger cutting surface for catching any juices from falling off and onto your counter, clothing, or floor. Just another small feature to make this the best cutting board you’ve ever used.

Use the second board as a presentation plater

chopbox6

In addition to food preparation, this smart cutting board is a perfect food presentation platter for parties and guests! With two clean uniform surfaces, you can use it as two separate food serving surfaces or as the perfect cheese or charcuterie board with the second surface coming out from the bottom to hold cheese knives and catch any drips.

Long-lasting battery life: lasts up to 30 days on a single charge

The ChopBox has a large battery inside [3000 mAh] which charges quickly. With just one hour of charging you get up to 30 days of regular daily use of your smart cutting board.

Completely waterproof for an easy clean up

IPX is a waterproof rating system that refers to the ability of an object to resist water. For example, IPX0 means something is not water-resistant at all, such as a book. IPX2 means your object is protected from “some water drops when the device is tilted up to and including 15 degrees.” The rating goes up to IPX8, which means your object is protected even if it is dropped in over 3 feet of water and is fully waterproof.

The ChopBox is rated IPX7, meaning it is fully waterproof and can withstand being in water up to 3 feet deep! However, we do NOT recommend putting the ChopBox in a dishwasher, as the high heat in dishwashers warp and break down all natural cutting boards over time

Durability tested and high strength

chopbox7

ChopBox is​ incredibly strong​!​ It holds up to 150 pounds of weight. Bamboo is completely natural and organic and is considered a “low maintenance wood,” meaning it is very hard and dense, so it keeps water out of the wood itself so it will not warp or crack as other woods can. Other woods like maple, walnut, or cherry require regular maintenance with mineral oil or beeswax to keep it from cracking and warping. Bamboo is also resistant to knife scarring, due to its hard density and is known for its durability and affordability.

Click Here to Buy Now: $119 $199 (40% off). Raised over $2,190,940!

These modern sneakers are made from 98% plant-based materials

Posted on by

Corn, rubber, eucalyptus, and cork. These are the unlikely materials that come together to make the Kengos Lace-Up – a chic, clean, modern-looking sneaker that’s designed to safely biodegrade after you’re done with it.

The Lace-Up makes a very ambitious claim of being 98% natural and plant-based, making it environment-friendly and vegan-friendly too. Its aesthetic is guided by the materials used in it, resulting in a sneaker that looks distinctly unique. On top, you’ve got an upper made from Amaize, a corn-based fabric that’s hardy-yet-breathable. The upper body is lined on the inside with eucalyptus fabric, allowing the sneakers to regulate temperature, absorb sweat, and cool you down in the heat. The Lace-Up’s midsole comes made out of cork, which molds to the shape of one’s foot almost like a foam insert… and the outsole comes crafted from Kengos’ patent-pending Pure-Flex rubber, which is durable as a work-boot, but biodegrades nearly 35-times as fast.

Kengos is currently beta-testing their shoes, allowing a small group of people to purchase them and wear them for a period of 30 days. After a month, Kengos takes your feedback using a questionnaire and a small interview with its founders, and sends you a second pair of shoes for free when the Lace-Up line officially launches in November. When you buy a pair of shoes, not only do you become a part of Kengos’ effort to truly build something driven by real customer feedback, you also support a company with a goal of making products that are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and least impact the earth.

Designer: Dave Costello (Kengos)

Transparent solar panels + ‘Quantum Dots’ will harvest energy on an architectural scale!

Posted on by

Have you seen the movie Skyscraper (yes, the one with The Rock)? Now imagine that tall glass building being a source of energy for the whole structure instead of just using energy! This futuristic vision could soon be a reality and the key lies in the creation of transparent solar cells which, when placed between the panes of double-glazed windows, harvest energy from the sun – this is the solar panel version of Harry’s invisible cloak if you will. Also, can you imagine phone screens made with this? We would eliminate portable charging!

Researchers have set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells by achieving 8.1% efficiency and 43.3% transparency with an organic, or carbon-based design rather than conventional silicon. Glass on buildings have a coating to reflect and absorb some of the light for reducing brightness/heat inside and rather than discarding that energy away, transparent solar panels could harness it. For context, the previous transparent solar cells have light utilization efficiencies of approximately 2-3% which makes 8.1% a big leap. “Windows, which are on the face of every building, is an ideal location for organic solar cells because they offer something silicon can’t, which is a combination of very high efficiency and very high visible transparency,” explains Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken distinguished university Professor of engineering and Paul G. Goebel Professor of engineering.

To further push boundaries, UbiQD, an advanced materials company from New Mexico is continuing its development of transparent solar panels that are indistinguishable from regular glass using Quantum Dots – microscopic particles that have the ability to manipulate light to harness energy. “These Quantum Dots are super ‘nano’ particles of material and it would take roughly 100,000 of them to span your fingernail. These materials are especially advantageous due to having remarkably high efficiency and size-tunable photoluminescence (PL, light emission) over a wide range of colors,” explains the team at UbiQD. This technology can be a game-changer to reduce massive loads from large electricity grids and maybe even be integral in the planning of future cities that will run on solar energy!

Designer: UbiQD

This entire cleaning spray fits into a single water-soluble tablet to help cut plastic consumption

Posted on by

Here’s some food for thought. That bottle of shampoo, disinfectant, liquid soap, or detergent is essentially 80-90% water. Extract all that water and reduce the product down to simply its dry ingredients and they hardly occupy any volume or weight. The fact that you’re literally paying for 9 ounces of water every time you buy a 10 oz bottle of cleaning liquid isn’t just an economical issue, it’s an ecological one too. Shipping a bottle with 90% water is a waste of cargo space and fuel, as well as a waste of that large plastic bottle which eventually gets thrown into the garbage when the liquid runs out.

1N9 helps cut all that down by condensing your bottle of cleaning liquid into a single compacted pill of dry-ingredients. Pop the pill into a regular plastic spray bottle filled with water and the pill disintegrates, turning the water into cleaning liquid… when the liquid runs out, just pop another pill in and repeat the process. You save up on money (because a pill of dry-ingredients doesn’t cost as much, and you end up reusing the same spray bottle instead of buying a fresh bottle every time! Plus, 1N9’s cleaning pills are made from 100% natural ingredients, making them safe for you as well as for the environment! Double win!

Designer: Supublic for 1N9 Modern Cleaner

Edible food packaging made from seaweed has the potential to offset carbon emissions entirely!

Posted on by

I don’t even know where to begin with the problem of plastic pollution – it is a heavy one and in literal terms, the amount of plastic on this planet is almost the same as the weight of the entire human population. Let that sink in. Single-use plastic makes for more than 50% of the plastic waste problem and if we continue at the rate we are going right now, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. According to the UN Environment, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year (read more here). In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once and then thrown away – this is a serious problem and Wenwen Fan of the Royal College of Arts is using her design abilities to do her bit in providing a solution.

Seaweed is touted as green gold by scientists who are exploring its uses as a sustainable alternative for single-use plastic. What makes it interesting is that it can be edible and has high nutritional value too! It is already a staple in Asian diets and also in skincare routines, so it was time to push the boundaries and turn these into vegan wrappers. Made from seaweed and vegetable extracts, these low-cal wrappers can be used as edible packaging for snacks and dissolvable pouches that add extra nutritional value to your food like vitamins, minerals as well as polysaccharides from that support your gut health. The seaweed extract is then dehydrated and the prototypes are examined in different temperature settings as well as tested for waterproof properties. Turtles eat seaweed and they live to be 100 so why not!?

“As a multidisciplinary experience designer, I am passionate about designing a cohesive, integrated set of experiences for behavior change. From embedding AR into an immersive Alzheimer’s simulation experience to creating sustainable edible packaging from seaweed, I believe a good experience design should be context-driven, behaviorally informed, and culturally relevant,” says Fan. The wrappers can customize for different flavors and nutritions for a more personalized product combination on Seaweed U which will be an online platform dedicated to the product. It is an ingenious way of packaging food while also being a source of soluble fiber – I see this design as a win-win with the only hurdle being the scale of mass production should a big brand adopt this packaging design. Seaweed U encourages a more convenient, playful, and pleasurable diet solution as well as reducing plastic pollution from the food industry.

There are three suggested scenarios in using these seaweed wrappers: Trick or Treat, The Lazy Pouch, and Super Chef. Trick or Treat is a healthy snack made from fruity-taste seaweed skins. Through combining a more familiar food palate like nuts and berries with the nutritional skins, it enables people to enjoy seaweed through daily snacking without being held back by the green and slimy texture. The Lazy Pouch is a single-serve, dissolvable pouch with different types of seaweed like wakame, dulse, and kelp, etc. that offers a convenient and quality meal supplement for those living a fast-paced lifestyle. Super Chef offers a creative DIY food experience in the kitchen where people can play with this versatile material in combination with ordinary ingredients to make unique dishes like transparent onigiris, ice cream raviolis, and colorful spring rolls.

We all know eating a more plant-based diet has a direct impact on climate change and seaweed can be of great help. According to scientists, building seaweed farming networks on just 9% of the world’s ocean could offset carbon emission entirely – that can buy us more time to focus on the larger plastic problem. Seaweed U aims to help people feel comfortable with different superfoods that add immense benefits to their health as well as the health of our planet.

Designer: Wenwen Fan

This eco luxury hotel’s zen pod is inspired by Japanese design!

Posted on by

As an avid skier, my dream vacations always involve the Swiss Alps and while ski resorts are amazing, I prefer smaller accommodations like the Whitepod Eco-Luxury hotel – more cozy and intimate for the winters!  Whitepod has a range of geodesic pods to choose from and they all come with panoramic views of the Rhône Valley. One of the most interesting pods is the Zen Suite which is designed by Montalba Architects.

The minimalist yet luxurious pod is nestled in the Dents-du-Midi mountain range of Switzerland and has been inspired by Japanese design and elements. The dome is created using a combination of natural materials and sustainable construction keeping it aligned with the hotel’s goal of maintaining spiritual harmony with the delicate alpine ecosystem. To minimize environmental impact, architects raised the pods on platforms and left the surroundings mostly untouched. The eco-pods are perched on an elevated, stadium-style deck giving guests private and unobstructed views of the stunning landscape from almost every angle.

The Zen Suite’s central circle is enclosed in curved wooden walls and Japanese-inspired accents like tatami floor mats. The pod itself measures 150 square feet with an additional 220 square feet provided by the connected terrace. The eco-pods, bath box and the platforms are all prefabricated. Imagine waking up and seeing sweeping views of the mountains from your bed! Then you proceed to the wooden spa-like bathroom which has been locally made to minimize waste and transportation. The bathroom features an Ozone system that filters water without the use of harmful chemicals. And to finish up your luxury experience there is a beautiful circular bathtub that also allows you to continue taking in the breathtaking views while washing the tiredness away.

“The zen concept found throughout the design is inspired by the Wu Xing philosophy, which states that all things are connected and made up of energy,” says the team. The five elements of the philosophy are represented through the earth, water, wood, metal, and fire which are all found in many thoughtfully designed details in the Zen Suite. These eco domes are truly the architectural embodiment of the calm you experience after self-reflection.

Designer: Montalba Architects

Europe’s first electric cargo bus is made from renewable biodegradable resins + flax fibers!

Posted on by

The green revolution is slowly but surely picking up the pace! Meet Volta Zero – Europe’s first all-electric commercial cargo bus. Volta Trucks is the genius startup behind the creation of the Zero and you might also recognize them as Europe’s first commercial vehicle manufacturer to have a proprietary e-Axle electric drivetrain.

So what makes the Zero different from other electric vehicles? Well, for starters Zero’s e-Axle drivetrain comprises the electric motor, transmission, and axle in a single lightweight unit unlike the existing electric vehicles in the market. Another structural difference is that Zero’s modular lithium-ion phosphate battery pack is placed between the chassis rails which is the design blueprint that enables Volta to build custom trucks for any commercial purposes. “Commercial vehicles form the lifeblood of commerce and livelihoods in cities, but today’s large trucks dangerously impose themselves on our streets and dominate their surroundings. With the launch of Volta Zero, we are changing the face of road transport,” says Rob Fowler, CEO of Volta Trucks

For context, the Volta Zero is actually bigger than Rivian’s Amazon electric delivery van as it is almost 10-meters long and 3.5-meters in width. Zero’s body panels are crafted from renewable biodegradable resins and flax fibers to make it sustainable right from the manufacturing process to have a bigger impact. Swiss company Bcomp developed the body panels in collaboration with the European Space Agency and they are supposed to be as strong and light as carbon-fiber but uses 75% less CO2 to produce. The unique weave of the panels is processed using canola oil by British company Bamd. To make production sustainable is a breakthrough in itself! The Zero also features standard ADAS driving technology that includes active steering, reversing assistant, lane change assist, lane departure warning, and an A.I.-based vehicle monitoring system.

Volta Zero weighs close to 16 tons and has a unique driving position that gives the driver an edge when navigating a cargo bus in narrow streets. It has a swiveling driver’s chair is situated in the middle of the cabin which means having a 220-degree view of the outside environment – similar to what you see in a McLaren F1 or GMA T.50. The driver seat is also positioned to be 1.8-meters lower to the ground for better inter-city visibility. Zero’s large windows and 360-degree camera allow for easier maneuverability while eliminating blind spots around the truck for the driver. It has a top speed of 56 mph and comes equipped with a 160 to 200 kWh battery pack. Volta Zero has a 125 miles range with up to 37.3 cubic meters (1,317 cubic feet) of cargo space, the maximum payload capacity is 9.6 tons.

The prototype testing begins later next year and the first production units are expected to arrive in early or mid-2022 depending on how the pandemic progresses. This could be a game-changer for shipments worldwide since online shopping has only increased and will continue to do so in the future – this could be a solution that doesn’t hamper the economic demand while also making sure to minimize the impact on our planet.

Designer: Volta Trucks

This reusable straw opens up with a zip-lock mechanism, allowing you to easily clean the inside

Posted on by

Product design truly is an endless journey. We, as a species, go from solving one problem to another till we have something that is as close to perfect as it can get… and that process can often take, well, millennia. The earliest instances of straws date nearly 5000 years back, and were made by the Ancient Sumerians who used hollow metal tubes to drink out of large vats (they also pioneered beer fermentation, so take from that what you will). Over the years, the humble straw evolved and saw material changes, from paper in 1888 (when the straw was first patented by man named Marvin Stone), to plastic in the 1930s. Straws were initially produced for hospitals, as it allowed patients to drink without sitting up – and they only caught on after the 30s after bending straws were in invented and soft drinks and milkshakes took the world by storm. Straws don’t really have a great reputation today, in part because they’re not biodegradable, but also because of their inherent throwaway culture. If you fix the material, design, and culture, you fix the straw… and that’s sort of what the ClickStraw is trying to do.

The ClickStraw addresses the inherent flaws of the straws before it. Plastic straws are an environmental hazard, paper straws become soggy, bamboo straws end up developing molds, and metal straws are difficult to clean. Made from high quality and sustainable TPE, the ClickStraw is designed to be used multiple times, and moreover, is easy to maintain. Its hollow, tubular structure can be opened out completely, allowing you to rinse the inner surface of the straw, giving it a deep clean. The ClickStraw’s innovation lies in a ziplock-bag-style snapping fixture and a live-hinge that run along the length of the tube. To clean the straw, slide your thumb in and it opens up. Once you’re done, click it shut like a zip-lock bag and you’ve got yourself a spanking clean straw that doesn’t degrade, get dirty, or worse, corrode like your metal straws.

The straw measures a cool 190mm (7.4 inches) in length, and stands at 17.3mm wide (0.6 inches), making it tall enough to fit into LIIT glasses, and wide enough to work with thick shakes and boba teas. The patented snap-fit construction is water-tight, lasts a million open-close cycles, and is safe for children. The TPE material is a clever choice too, given that it handles heat and cold remarkably well, has a neutral smell and taste, and can go right in the dishwasher… and if it ever makes its way into the trash, the ClickStraw can be 100% recycled, leaving absolutely no plastic waste behind!

Designer: Frank Healey of HELY

Click Here to Buy Now: 4 for $18. Hurry, for a limited time only.

ClickStraw – Oneclick Open Straw That Saves the Ocean

The ClickStraw is a reusable straw that can be opened lengthways for easier and faster ways to clean than other straws.

One Clickstraw can save 600 plastic straws entering oceans and landfills in a year.

The Problem with Conventional Straws

One of the biggest contributing factors in our ocean waste is single-use plastic. This has led many startups to come up with reusable straws made from materials like silicone, metal, paper and even pasta.

However, they’re not the most lucrative alternative to conventional straws as the metal straws can be hazardous while paper and pasta straws tend to get soggy and may taste weird. One of the biggest problems with these straws is that they are difficult to clean, and no matter how many times you wash them with water, there is a chance of some residue getting stuck inside the straw. Furthermore, the straws that come with a cleaning brush aren’t really offering a feasible solution because the brush is often made of plastic and can cause health problems if not replaced regularly.

The Solution

Made from 100% TPE, the ClickStraw can be click opened lengthwise for the cleaning process, so there is no residue left inside for a clean and hygienic straw that is ready to be used again. It is dishwasher safe and suitable for both hot and cold drinks.

Patent-protected. Simply open, wash and close.

To ensure that ClickStraws will be recycled and does not end up as plastic waste, the founders are promising a free & lifetime return service. They guarantee that every returned ClickStraw will be re-constructed into secondary plastic and reused in new applications.

Click Here to Buy Now: 4 for $18. Hurry, for a limited time only.

This 100% biodegradable packaging material is made from brewers’ spent grain!

Posted on by

I am still learning about sustainable materials and how that ties in with creating a circular economy. A circular economy is a system of closed loops in which raw materials, components, and products lose as little of their value as possible while renewable energy sources are used and the product’s lifecycle ends naturally. One such innovative material is ‘Trebodur’ – an organic material made entirely from brewers’ spent grain!

Brewers’ spent grains are the residues that accumulate from barley malt during the process of lautering while making beer. So what binds the material to give it strength? The contained proteins in the spent grains act as a natural binder, now that’s a self-sufficient material! Creators Niko and Tillmann did extensive research and several experiments with natural fibers and binders. At the end of that process, they found the capabilities of brewers’ spent grain and used the self-binding fiber material to develop the ‘mabeerial’ which doesn’t need any additional binders. “In the future, we will increasingly need to substitute petrochemical materials. 100% natural? You won’t make it!” but the creators of Trebodur made it happen by developing an entirely natural material.

Being a 100% biodegradable, Trebodur is a perfect choice for creating products that are used and thrown at large events or even in PR packages. It can be used for all kinds of packaging products and become a substitute material for paper and plastic packaging. At the end of the lifecycle, products made from Trebodur can be easily composted without any residue or harmful waste. This has immense potential to reduce single-use waste. “Due to its utterly natural origin, the material decays quickly, even on garden compost heaps. Furthermore, it is possible to add substances like minerals, ashes, or even plant seeds to the material to supply the soil,” says the team. They give drinking responsibly a whole new meaning!

Designers: Niko Stoll and Tillmann Schrempf

This 3D printed sustainable clay range is an indigenous storage solution that reduces food waste!

Posted on by

All over the world, we face the challenge of waste generation and management. Most people think that plastic is the biggest culprit but you would be surprised to know that food waste the largest waste contributor worldwide. To put it into context, food is responsible for 44% while plastic is responsible for 12% – that is a problem we need to fix and designer Lea Randebrock is taking a step in the right direction with her Clay Pantry collection.

About 1/4th of the food waste, which is generated in industrialized countries goes back to the actions of consumers and the busy lifestyles of western countries in combination with a lack of knowledge. Old-timey solutions like root-cellars made it possible to store produce throughout winter but now we have cheap food that is quick to cook and always available which has been taken for granted. People are not only detached from their environment but also from the food they consume and Clay Pantry wants to change that approach through its organic design. It provides a suitable space for fruits and vegetables which make up for the highest waste count. Inspired by traditional storing methods, this collection was created to be used within our modern lifestyle settings – the best of both worlds. The furniture-container collection includes the Root Stool, Fruit Shelf, Tempered Box, and Watering Jug which are all crafted around the behavior and actions of watering plants. “By watering the objects like plants, the focus goes effortlessly to the objects and the content,” describes Randebrock who has been a student of furniture design and is inspired by indigenous materials.

Clay has been used since ancient times as a storage solution for food and drinks, having grown up in India it is a big part of the culture and in fact, water stored in clay pots is always cooler (and sweeter!). The cooling effect is due to the porosity of earthenware which has natural cooling properties when soaked with water. Clay Pantry optimizes this property to give you a range of storage containers for small, urban homes. The Root Stool provides dry and dark storage space and the Tempered Box was created for produce that needs humid and cool conditions. The Fruit Shelf and Water Jug are self-explanatory. Clay Pantry’s modular nature makes it a perfect fit for compact apartments and for those looking for an eco-friendly storage solution for their produce.

“In the situation followed by the challenging spring of 2020, I believe it is more important than ever to include empathy in our society. Any aspects of everyday life are challenged and need to be redesigned and restructured. While this is a challenging time, this is a chance to question the status quo. As a designer, I hope to contribute in a positive way to a Post-Corona society,” says Randebrock, a student of the Royal College of Arts. She has used a traditional food storage method but brought it to life using 3D printing – the best of both worlds is embodied in this collection that serves us and our environment.

Designer: Lea Randebrock

clay pantry

clay pantry 1

clay pantry 2