Sustainable Minds has created a piece of software that can help asses life cycle impact of potential products based on factors such as materials used.

We noticed these interesting eco-friendly sponges at a local market the other day.

Recently, at the London Design Festival, the V&A Museum South Kensington held an exhibit entitled In Praise of Shadows, which was inspired by the decision by EU governments to phase out low efficiency light bulbs by 2012.

Designer Per Aage Sivertsen is using milk proteins to make a gauze-like fabric.

Target, will be transforming vinyl from their Times Square billboard into 1,600 limited edition bags designed by Anna Sui.

Back in July we came across the results of a study on consumer behavior as it related to “going green”. The research concluded that people are more motivated to make eco-friendly purchases based on perceptions about status – i.e. installing these solar panels are sure to make my neighbors envious – than they are by other factors, like cost-savings or more surprisingly perhaps, actually benefitting the environment.

Cubis is a packaging concept design which is claimed to be the world’s first stackable, fliptop plastic beverage container. Because of it’s cube shape, the Cubis takes up less space on store shelves, and transportation becomes more efficient (and therefore eco-friendly) as well.  The Cubis is also made out of recycled materials and can be used with one hand.  It’s scheduled to be released for use next month.
[via Lovely Package]
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We’ve covered previous marketing efforts from China’s leading sportswear and shoe company Li Ning, who seems to be willing to push the envelope in terms of innovative ways to reach the local youth market. The company recently released an eco-friendly shoe called the “Green 001″ for the Spring 2009 line. The  shoe is constructed from eco-friendly materials, including ample use of hemp. In their marketing campaign (see above poster), Li Ning is promoting a simple theme: “Environmental Protection = Trendy.”
Interestingly, the tongue of the shoe is embroidered with the image of Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement [...]

This is an extract from the draft of John Grant’s new book Co-opportunity, contracted for publication with John Wiley & Sons Limited, January 2010. This extract is the introduction to the book.
My new book, Co-opportunity is based on the growing realization that sustainability is going to require nothing less than a wholesale shift to more co-operative social systems. It’s not just about shaving off energy, waste or carbon emissions – nor about ‘band aid’ approaches to poverty. It’s about a new way of organizing society for the common good. Many people have described this shift. Prince Charles in a recent [...]

The “Emo” Recycle kit by Harac of Tokyo is comprised of three tools to help make the recycling process easier. It contains a “bottle cap ring remover” that cuts off plastic caps from glass bottles (i. e. vinegar and salad dressing or oil bottles which often have tight plastic caps) and carton scissors, to ease the flattening of milk or juice cartons. Aerosols can be punctured by the “Spray can gas remover” and afterwards discarded in the recycle bin. All of these functional and simple tools are made from stainless steel with resin handles.

While cycling has always been a strong part of contemporary German culture, one brothel in Berlin is giving it’s patrons a new reason to go green.
According to the BBC:
“Customers who arrive by bicycle at Berlin’s Maison d’Envie will receive a five-euro ($7, £4.30) discount on the usual fee of 70 euros.
The discount also applies to those who can prove they took public transport to get there, owner Thomas Goetz said.”
The owner of the brothel claims that the recession has hit even the oldest profession, but that this new strategy is encouraging sometimes up to 3-5 new clients per day, while [...]

Wooly Pockets are an interesting modular system for creating indoor and outdoor gardens. Constructed out of a soft, felt-like material made out of recycled plastic bottles, the pockets can be hung and stacked to create space-saving vertical wall gardens, and the flat syle allows for a more traditional flexible plant container. The material breathes, keeping roots healthy, and the Wooly Pockets come in an unlined version for the outdoors, and a lined version to keep indoor plants from leaking.

[via Better Living Through Design]

Globe-trotter, former design student, and now eco-friendly designer- you could say San Francisco dweller Shannon South has worn a lot of hats. This one-time New Yorker is the creative mastermind behind reMade USA, a new line of bags and accessories made entirely from unusual recycled materials like leather jackets and is inspired by “a deep appreciation for things have been cultivated by hand– be it tomatoes from a garden, a piece of wood from a salvage yard…”
The best part about reMade USA is that each product is one of a kind and comes with the warning:
“There [...]

The Luximo LED task light is the product of California based designer Joerg Student and engineer Frank Shum. Joerg told us that his goal with the Luximo was to interpret its function in an elegant way. He noted that many LED lights are appearing on the market now. But what he has seen elsewhere hasn’t taken full advantage of the efficiency and unique engineering requirements LED bulbs have. Every piece of the Luximo has been designed to be eco-friendly, long lasting, and easy to maintain.
The base and body are made of 100% aluminum and can be recycled. The power adapter [...]

At our 2009 PSFK Conference NYC, Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger shared a selection of his favorite environmentally positive, high-impact products, services, and people. In his entertaining presentation, Graham overwhelmed the crowd, hyper Pecha Kucha style, with 60 powerful ideas helping to make the world a better place.