Archive for December, 2009
Sarah Wigglesworth has built a an eco-friendly Christmas Tree out of bicycle wheels borrowed from Re~Cycle, the UK charity that restores bikes and ships them to Africa. Lighting is just reflectors; the wheels are spun by wind power. Sarah Wigglesworth said: “The team brainstormed a number of ideas during a design charette. A theme emerged, the idea of promoting green transport in the capital which relates to our cycle store, also in the square. We are all proud of the resulting tree, and hope everyone enjoys it.”...
Talk about a recycled Christmas Tree. This one is made from 400 Mountain Dew cans. Drinking soda isn’t a green or healthy thing to do – but skipping a fake plastic tree or a chopped-down pine tree and constructing your own out of highly recyclable aluminum cans is certainly a green option. Check out a full-length photo and a video tour of the tree… Graphic designer David Barstow and three friends built the tree in 2006, after spending three months guzzling Mountain Dew.Mountain Dew Tree has a bunch of great photos showing the construction of the tree. Earth First points to an...
Last month Italian designer outwear company MONCLER announced that they will be partnering with producer/artist PHARRELL WILLIAMS, creator of the clothing lines Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream (kicks), to produce a line of men’s down coats called “BULLET PROOF”. The name “bullet proof” is not just a clever moniker, but a testament to the company that will be manufacturing the coats-Bionic Yarn ran by Pharrell’s partner Tyson Toussant; a green manufacturer of yarns made from recycled plastic bottles. Though Moncler produces coats for men, women and children, the “bullet proof” line will cater to men only, sorry ladies. No...
New York City is lit with dazzling displays of energy-sucking holiday decorations this time of year. But the pop-up pond at Bryant Park has an alternative lighting rig for its skating rink, open daily until midnight this winter. Illuminated by a new Jewel-Light Luminaire of LEDs, the rink, located behind the main library just a block from blazing Times Square, hosts a free option to the Rockefeller Plaza and Central Park’s Wolman Rinks. Not just little twinkly bulbs, these give off some serious candle power. “The Jewel-Lights add a brighter and environmentally friendlier experience,” said the Director of Design of Bryant Park, Igancio Ciocchini, about...
Who would have thought that your most coveted wardrobe item could be… water? I am constantly asked about my “Water is a Human Right” necklace, designed by Linda Loudermilk. With fashionable items that inspire critical thinking about the world we live in, the “Water is a Human Right” line has limited edition pieces that all give back to the YEW Foundation, supporting clean water initiatives around the world. Made from reclaimed silver and a single glass drop of water, the necklace serves as a reminder that 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean water. Get yours at the Inhabitat shop for $85 and...
*THE LEDA PURSE $160 When I stumbled upon ESCAMA STUDIO’S accessories the first thoughts that came to mind were SEXY, CHIC, and FASHIONABLE. When I found out that all of their products are made from RECYCLED RESOURCES I was drawn. And when I saw the prices, I was sold! So check it out. Escama Studio is a collaborative design studio based in California and Brazil. Their flagship product is a sleek, handcrafted line of women’s bags made from recycled aluminum tabs. That’s right folks, the tabs you find on your soda cans have been recycled into fashionable women’s wear that you...
If Santa were to have the most forward-thinking, sustainable sleigh ever, what might it look like? General Electric thinks it knows. It has put 10 of it’s green tech concepts in one place, devising a sleigh that will make all the elves argue over who gets to co-pilot with Santa on Christmas Eve. From OLED lighting to energy harvesting, this thing is tricked out. GE’s new sleigh for Santa includes nano-coatings to prevent ice build-up and improve fuel efficiency (nano materials, however, are not necessarily green or healthy), self-powered OLED lighting (props on using OLED versus LED…talk about looking towards the future),...
The new anti-malaria campaign, Nothing but Nets, is out just in time for the holiday season and really is the gift that keeps on giving. For a very small donation, you can save a life, or two, gift a gift to a friend, and get two free tickets to a basketball game. The more lives you protect, the more basketball tickets you get. Win, win win!! Malaria is estimated to kill one child every 30 seconds. This is a crying shame considering that a simple, (cheap) bed net will drastically reduce that number. Now the NBA is getting involved with the United Nations Foundation in...
Heineken has always been clever with its beer bottles; Warren has written how in the sixties they considered redesigning them to work as bricks. Now in China, they are using them to build Christmas trees; Recylart considered it recycling but a sharp-eyed commenter noted that they were full and capped. The recycling begins after Christmas and will probably be a great deal of fun *Seen in front of the Nanjing road mall in Shanghai. HIT FROM: Treehugger.com...
