Sustainable design is also called green design, and the core of green design is the "three Rs", namely Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, so the principle of the design is to be environmentally friendly. To put it simply, sustainable design is a strategic design activity for constructing and developing sustainable solutions. It includes the sustainability of the environment and resources, as well as the sustainability of society and culture. We all know that design ultimately meets the needs of consumers, so sustainable design must consider economic, environmental, ethical and social issues in a balanced manner. From the perspective of sustainable materials, let’s share a few sustainable designs-
01 Waste Paper P-Box is a packaging solution that can help diaper brands reduce packaging waste. P-Box turns these cardboard boxes into innovative items for daily use, thus giving them new uses. The user can turn it into a cat litter, or a light stool, or it can be flat-packed and used to store objects used by the user.
02. Smart materials Smart and adaptable materials are also favored by designers. The color of clothes designed by fashion designer Ying Gao can react dynamically with the surrounding environment. The color change is achieved through iridescent materials and reinforced by reflective glass, silicone resin and lightweight transparent organza fabric.
Researchers at the University of Maryland have invented a sensitive textile made of polymer fibers coated with carbon nanotubes, which can increase and decrease the temperature according to the wearer's body feeling. Researchers expect this fabric will be used in sports apparel first.
03. Another organic material that cellulose designers focus on is cellulose, an organic compound. The designer Sho Shibuya uses 100% biodegradable bamboo fiber materials to make beautiful and fun smiley woven bags. It can easily hold watermelon, bento, cabbage, and is also suitable for most take-out cartons and pre-processed goods.
04. Cork material Cork is a material that emerged in 2019. It is favored by many designers and architects due to its synthesizable and recyclable properties. Mat thew Barnett Howland, Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton built a house out of cork. Cork is a chemical-free material that can be completely composted or recycled.
05. How can recycled waste plastics maximize the value of plastics and contribute to urban construction? The Print Your City project explored the application of 3D printing technology to the redesign of plastic waste recycling. This project calls on urban residents to convert recycled household plastic waste into furniture that can be used in public spaces. People can choose to convert recycled plastic into: flower pots, bicycle racks, pet bowls, benches, etc. through the website. You can also use a 3D printed shell to transform a 500ml water bottle into a variety of beautiful vases. Use children's plastic discarded toys and remake them into children's furniture.
06. Tents and parachutes An unusual but popular option that was scoured from landfills is: tents and parachutes, made of nylon, which designers use to make fashion and furniture. Designers Chloe Baines and Tuo Lei both chose to make clothing from tents left by the music festival.
A series of furniture pieces were made from recycled, redundant ex-military parachutes and aircraft brake parachutes. Each textile is fixed with a combination of concealed zippers and different textile technologies (including invisible seams and French seams), and excess parachute material is wrapped around the armrests.
07. There is food waste that cannot be spared from coffee grounds. The designers tried every means to reuse waste coffee grounds. Jamie Pybus developed a household system that uses the remaining coffee grounds as fertilizer for growing edible mushrooms. Design studio Priestman Goode also replaced disposable plastics with coffee grounds and shells to provide dinner plates for flights.
08. Bioplastics Feel the Peel is a prototype orange juicer created for global energy company Eni. In addition to squeezing orange juice, it can also turn waste fruit peels into bioplastic cups. This is a classic example of the practice of circular economy. After squeezing the juice, the remaining orange peel falls into the transparent compartment at the bottom of the machine. The collected peels are then dried and ground to produce "orange dust", which is mixed with polylactic acid (PLA) to form bioplastics. This material is then heated and melted to form filaments, which are then transported through a 3D printer built into the machine. The cup can be recycled after use, and its material will continue to decompose and theoretically be remade into other cups.
09. Air ink With the increase of cars, the air pollution caused by car exhaust is getting more and more serious. Indian brother Anirudh Sharma focused on researching exhaust gas recovery and reuse technology and designed a filter called Kaalink.
Kaalink can filter the exhaust gas emitted by generators, ferries, and motor vehicles, and the carbon-containing particles will be collected, and then use these raw materials to make a special pigment Air-Ink.
In order to awaken people's environmental awareness, Anirudh Sharma invited many artists to use Air-Ink for artistic creation. He hopes that everyone can pay attention to the exhaust problem, and each Air-Ink pen represents the exhaust emissions of a car for 40-50 minutes.
10. Used clothing There are about 92 million tons of textile waste in the world every year, which are eventually landfilled or incinerated, causing a lot of waste of resources and chemical pollution. So the designer took aim at the old clothes, used the old things, and circulated back and forth. New York environmental artist Derick Melander uses old clothes as an artistic medium to awaken the public's attention to the issue of textile waste. He carefully stacked his old clothes into a 2.4-meter-high clothing "column" standing in the square. After the exhibition, the old clothes used to make art will be donated to local charities, resold or recycled into new fabrics.