Stop Destroying Our Planet

One of this week's Threadless t-shirts made me laugh. It reads "Stop Destroying Our Planet. It's where I keep all my stuff."

Daylesford Organic

I've newly discovered Great Britain's Daylesford Organic. It's an organic store that specializes in food and home products. Their website is drool-worthy gorgeous. It's branding at its best. Plus, they have some refreshing approaches to products, like this fresh organic milk packaged in environmentally friendly, biodegradable, fold-flat milk jugs (slash bags).

Outdoor Cutlery

Anafim is a set of outdoor cutlery designed by d-Vision, an industrial design internship program. I don't think this cutlery is totally necessary. I don't see the difference is between carrying around half a fork or a whole fork. However... I still really like this idea. Not from a utility point of view, but from an experience point of view. I would enjoy using this cutlery. It has a fun natural and artistic feel to it. You could find just the right stick handle for your eating preferences. It also has the satisfying underlaying reference of making tools out of things in nature but with a modern twist where you don't have to sharpen your own blade. (Found through MoCo Loco).

The Footprint Chronicles

There are a lot of companies that are making an effort to be more environmentally friendly, but few companies are taking it as seriously as Patagonia. They state that their 'reason for being is to make the best product and cause no unnecessary harm'. Patagonia's new Footprint Chronicles is an indication of their commitment to being green. It is a website that depicts a refreshingly honest view of the manufacturings impact of a few select Patagonia products. It maps and calculates the distance the product traveled, the carbon dioxide emissions, waste generated, and energy consumed during the manufacturing of the products. (Found through Cool Hunting).

Get Clean Stay Green

If you are trying to think of ways to make your life more green this lovely Earth Day, why not try cutting down your shower time. This $3 shower timer from Envirosax can help keep you on track. It sticks to your shower wall and keeps your cleaning routine down to 4 minutes. You can save water and make the people you share your bathroom with happy all at the same time. (Found through Ecofriend).

Earth Hour 2008

Tomorrow, March 29, at 8pm is this year's Earth Hour. It was done last year in a few cities with limited participation. This year, they have put a lot more effort into raising awareness and getting global participation on both an individual and corporate scale. Participants are asked to turn out their lights between the 8 and 9pm. The idea is to demonstrate that such a small act, can make a measurable change.

New York City Garbage

It's hard to know what kind of souvenir to buy in New York City. Do you go with the Statue of Liberty foam hat, the scaled model of the Empire State Building, or the always classic, I Heart NY t-shirt? Well how about going for something completely different and with a much better story... like a cube of garbage. Artist Justin Gignac (also of Wants for Sale), specializes is collecting and selling NYC garbage in neat little smell-proof clear cubes. I love them because they are so representative of New York (and I mean that in the best possible way). You can even purchase special event garbage such as, garbage from New Year's Eve 2008 in Time Square, or garbage from the national republican convention. Brilliant! I want some.

Energy Bracelet

Canadian designer, Chet Domanski, has created these great one-off Energy Bracelets. They are made out of 'up-cycled' pieces of the Alberta natural gas line. Decommissioned pieces of the pipelines have been machined and chamfered into beautiful bracelets. Each bracelet is tagged with the geographical coordinates of the location from which the pipe was taken. (Found through Sub-Studio Design Blog).

LINC - The Lifecycle Concept Phone

The amazing designers at Kaleidoscope's Greener Grass project have come up with another interesting cell phone concept. Inspired by their attendance of the Greener Gadgets Conference, the LINC phone concept was designed with the product's entire lifecycle in mind. The phone is made to be easily disassembled. When LINC's hardware becomes obsolete, users are asked to ship in back to the company in exchange for an updated phone. The manufacturer then easily disassembles the phone using a directed radiant heat beam which targets its internal memory metal latch, releasing the assembly. The phone's components (glass, metal, electronics, etc.) are all appropriately recycled, reused, or safely disposed of (in the case of hazardous materials). In the quick and ever changing world of technology that we live in, it's great to see product designers not only focusing on how the product is used, but what happens to it when it needs replacing.

Walk Score

If you are moving and looking for a place to buy or rent, you should check out the website Walk Score. It scores neighbourhoods based on how walker friendly they are. Walkable neighbourhoods are determined based on proximity of restaurants, shops, schools, parks, etc. The site admits some shortcomings in their calculations, but overall it's an excellent approximation of walkability. The Walk Score website has a great list of reasons why it's important to live somewhere walkable. The reasons range from the predictable eco-friendly sort to some you many not have though of, such as increased social capital. Very cool site. I'm going to be looking up the walk score of every neighbourhood I consider living in from now on. (Thanks Karon and fam).

River Glow

An important step in environmental change is to raise awareness. River Glow's raises awareness about water pollution by using a simple visual indicator to communicate water quality. Designed by The Living, River Glow is a floating system that monitors a river's pH level and gives off red or green light to indicate pollution levels. The system is energy self-sufficient, with energy supplied by one of a few experimental energy generating devices. The suspended light of River Glow has a certain artistic quality to it that reflects the beauty of the water it's trying to protect.

Current State Concept

Check out this Current State concept that I worked on for Kaleidoscope's The Greener Grass project. Current State is a conceptual mobile application used to monitor and control energy usage in your home. The concept was inspired by our discussions about energy consumption and how to teach people to take responsibility and control over their energy usage. The conceptual application allows users to set energy goals for themselves and then monitor how well they are meeting those goals. Current State also gives users remote control over powered devices within their home. Users can turn devices on or off, as well as setting up automatic timers to maximize their energy efficiency.

Vacant Lot

What If is a series of projects, by British Architects Gareth Morris and Ulrike Steven, that asks what if statements about architectural spaces. For example 'What if this vacant car park became a place used by the young people?' or 'What if you woke up with a heard of cows outside your door?'. One of their most interesting projects is called Vacant Lot. It looks at the idea of using a vacant lot for something useful, like growing vegetables and flowers. They opened up a vacant lot in London and filled it with 70 large grow bags of soil and a water tower. The residents of the community took over from there, planting seeds and tending to their makeshift allotments. I think this is a really cool idea. What I like about it is that using the grow bags gives it the possibility of being temporary and mobile. You could essentially just use a lot while it's free and then move onto another lot when someone starts building.

Re-Shirt

I appreciate the idea of buying used clothes but I also find it hard to get past the fact that they once belonged to someone else. My overactive imagination gets caught up in thinking about who owned the clothes before me, what kind of life they lived in them and what sort of mischief they got up to. Re-Shirt has taken advantage of this fact and turned the story behind a used t-shirt into a selling feature. People donate their used t-shirt along with some insight into its existence so far. An orange label with a registration number is added to the shirt. From then on, all owners of the shirt can document their experiences with/in it, giving the shirt a life and history of its own.

I really enjoyed the story behind the t-shirt shown above. Here it is as told from its previous owner's perspective: "I was wearing this t-shirt on a Sunday picnic with friends, kids and dogs. It was a nice autumn day and we enjoyed our sandwiches and a really very nice homemade chocolate cake while sitting on our blankets in the grass on a sunny hill north of Vienna, Austria overlooking the skyline of the city."

Who Knows What's Next

I've been researching videos with environmental messages lately. This is my favorite video that I've come across so far. It's called Who Knows What's Next by Three Legged Legs. What I like about it is that it is done from the perspective of the Earth, who has a 'case of the humans'. The short film entertainingly illustrates how humans slaughter all other forms of life, guzzle natural resources and poison the atmosphere - throwing off Earth's equilibrium. That all sounds very daunting, but the movie is done in such a way that it is funny and effective. I wouldn't want a case of the humans!

Lakai Recycled Shoes

Lakai has a refreshing approach to environmentally friendly shoes. They call it The Recycling Program. To eliminate waste, material offcuts that would otherwise be thrown out are used on the panels of The Recycling Program shoes. The shoe's sole is created from a mix of regrind rubber waste and new rubber, reducing the use of new material by 50%. No two shoes are exactly alike. In being honest to the recycling approach, designers only specify which of the shoe pannels are to be make out of recycled material. It is up to the manufacturers to determine what materials they have excess offcuts of to apply. Two of Lakai's shoe styles are available in The Recycling Program, the Kost-One (shown here) and the Coda. (Found through Sub-Studio Design Blog).

Baggu

The other day, my coworker Jessie was telling me that her New Year's resolution this year is to not use plastic bags. This struck me as a very smart and sensible resolution. It's a positive change, it's a bit of a challenge and it's realistically achievable. Anyway... this reminded me that I've been meaning to purchase these Baggu reusable shopping bags. I know there are a lot of reusable bags out there right now, but these are the ones I chose to go with. I like them because they are large (as in they hold a lot of stuff), but fold down to a small wallet size package. They come in all sorts of wonderful colours and cost $8 each (or $22 for 3 or $38 for 6, if you are really committed).

Sony's ODO Twirl N' Take

Earlier this year, Sony introduced a line of green concept gadgets, called ODO, which get their power from alternative sources such as solar panels and mechanical cranks. The newest addition to the ODO line is this Twirl N' Take digital camera. Fifteen seconds or rolling provides enough juice for one photo. I like that they chose to go with rolling over a hand crank. It seems much less tedious. The rolling approach also lead to an interesting form which also creates a natural view finder and handle. Very cool concept. (Found through Apartment Therapy Re-Nest).

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is a great 20 min animated speech by Annie Leonard examining a product's life cycle and the environmental and social side effects of each part of the process. It focuses on production and consumption trends that we have fallen into like bad habits and can't get away from. Whether you are involved in a product's development or you are just a consumer, this movie and website will definitely make you stop and think. (Found through Kaleidoscope's inspiring Greener Grass project).

Guide to Greener Electronics

If you are involved in product development or just a conciencious consumer, you should take the time to read Greenpeace's latest Guide to Greener Electronics. It ranks some of the big electronics manufacturers based on their global policies, use of harmful chemicals, and on taking responsibility for products at the end of their life cycle. (Found through Engadget).

Planet Earth - Directions for Use

'Planet Earth - Directions for Use' was Angie Rattay's entry for the Designboom 'Love Your Earth' graphic design competition. It is a series of four instructional pamphlets designed to resemble medical directions packed into a small prescription style box. Each manual focuses on a different part of the Earth; the atmosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere/pedosphere. Each set of 'directions' includes information about its relative part of the Earth and instructions on how readers can reduce their impact on that area. I would love a copy of this. It seems incredibly well thought out and executed.

Verdier

I like the thinking behind this Verdier Westfalia concept. It captures the essence of camping and being just that little bit closer to nature. The Verdier is a hybrid camper with solar panels, giving the modern Hippie the technology to be self sufficient.

Windowherbs

Windowherbs are a great solution to making fresh herbs part of your daily cooking routine. They are half pots of herbs that come with suction cups to allow you to stick them right to your kitchen window. The pots are not only a smart design, but also a very good looking one. The clear pots with simple labeling would suit any kitchen. Windowherbs were designed by Tineke Beunders of ZO.

Artek 2ndCycle

Artek has a really fascinating environmental initiative called 2ndCycle. They are buying back original Alvar Alto furniture and then reselling it again. No, they are not bothering to refinish it or anything like that. They are essentially selling it used in whatever disheveled (or not-so-disheveled) state that they found it in. So what is their angle? Well, it's a couple of things. First, they are trying to celebrate the idea of an original. There is value in older designer furniture. It is a piece of art. Secondly, they are reinforcing the quality of their product line. All of this furniture has held up over time. The last aspect of their new-to-you story is that the furniture has gained value though use. You are not just buying some piece of furniture straight off the assembly line. You are buying something with a story, a history to it. To play up this aspect of the furniture, each piece comes with an identifier number and an RFID tag that allows you to track and view its history. I love this idea. It's much more of a traditional view on furniture than a modern consumerist one.

I attended a talk by Tom Dixon where he spoke about Artek's 2nd Cycle line. Interestingly, part of the reason that there is so much used Alvar Alto furniture around is that most of it was originally sold to government institutions in Finland such as schools, hospitals and churches which don't spend the money to replace their furniture very often.

Jesus College Cambridge

One important part of sustainable design is thinking through a product's entire life cycle. What happens when a product comes to the end of its life? An interesting take on this is the Jesus College Cambridge. In the 1980s one of the building's large oak beams was rotting. The team tasked with replacing the beam pulled out the college's 300 year old building records for reference. They were impressed to discover that the building's original architects had anticipated this eventuality and planted a suitable oak tree on the college campus to replace the beam.

Sarah Cihat

Sarah Cihat is one of the most inspiring sustainable designers I can think of. She's not revolutionizing the power industry, or eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels. Her efforts are arguably small in size, but to me, that is what makes them so largely brilliant and inspiring. Sarah creates Rehabilitated Dishware. She collects used or unwanted ceramics from secondhand stores or overstocked piles and turns them into something new. She resurfaces the plates with modern colors and graphics, which play on the character of the original ceramic design, giving a new appeal to previously unwanted products.

Twist and Spout

Why recycle when you can reuse? The Twist and Spout gives you no reason not to. It's a twist on spout turns used beverage bottles into watering cans. The spouts are available in two different lengths, Garden (6.5") and Kitchen (3.5"). The best part is, they are only $5! Designed by Nicolas Le Moigne. Available for purchase on PerpetualKid.com. (Found, most recently, through Outblush)

Climate Cars Bike Rescue

Climate Cars are a new fleet of eco-friendly taxis in London. They drive hybrid cars and offset their emissions using The Carbon Neutral Company. What is interesting about Climate Cars is their Bike Rescue service. All of their cars carry bike racks. So if your eco-friendly self chose to ride a bike to work but then later questioned your commitment to climate change when it started pouring rain at the end of the day, you can still get a ride home from Climate Cars (complete with bike and a guilt-free conscious). (Found through Springwise).

Omlet Eglu

Looking for stylish ways to reduce your carbon footprint? How about raising chickens for eggs in this gorgeous chicken 'Eglo' by Omlet? This product was designed by four Royal College of Art students a few years back (I actually first saw it at their grad show!). Since then they have founded Omlet which sells this Eglu and the larger Eglu cube for housing chickens, rabbits or guinea pigs. Their site also has tons of great info about being an urban chicken owner. (Found through Trend Watching)

Lights Out London

In an effort to raise awareness about global warming, the city of London turned out its lights last week. The voluntary blackout happened on June 21 between 9pm and 10pm and included many notable building such as Tower Bridge, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. Piccadilly Circus also participated turning out its advertising lights for the first time since World War II. London isn't the first city to do this. They follow in the footsteps of Sydney, Paris and Hong Kong. London estimates that they collectively turned out 2 million lights saving 750 MWh of electricity in 1 hour. I like this idea because turning out lights is such a simple thing, but the effect of seeing such well known attractions in darkness has quite an impact. It would be great to see some more permanent energy savings come out of this.