CHI'S

Hyper-effeciency: The Train That Never Stops

Via Treehugger

The Reverse Graffiti Project

From the Reverse Graffiti Project via Laughing Squid

Breathing Earth

Via LostatEMinor

Breathing Earth is an online world map that gives you a country’s population, birth and death rates, and how much CO2 it emits.There’s a ticker on the side showing the number of people that have been born, how many have died, and how much CO2 has been emitted since you opened the URL. As you watch, the countries change from beige to yellow, to flashing red as they emit more CO2.

Mindscape

From Mindscape via LostAtEMinor

''Sitting on a grass lawn may be pleasant, but it isn’t always elegant when you’re wearing nice clothes or you have back problems. The people at Japanese design firm Mindscape have taken the Chia Pet model and applied it to some pretty rad lawn furniture. Now you can have the best of both worlds — the soothing, chlorophyll-filled softness of grass and the ergonomic comfort of well-designed seats.''

Levis Eco Jeans

Clothing recycling

From Wearable Clothing Recycling Via Coolhunting

THE PROBLEM. According to a recent study, 386 million pounds of textiles enter the NYC waste stream annually, representing close to 6% of total waste.                   

THE SOLUTION. Wearable Collections provides a no cost, turn-key solution to recycling clothing within residential buildings in NYC. We handle all the logistics from placement of bins and promotion within the buildings to scheduling weekly pick-ups.

                  

THE BENEFIT. Through our established network we distribute your discarded clothing around the world to people who need it, enabling us to raise money for charitable organizations.

Mediabistro's Compostmodern Coverage

Mediabistro has covered the Compostmodern Conference in San Francisco about sustainability and the role of design. Speakers at the event included Mark Galbraith, VP Design at NAU, and Jane Savage, Director at Nike's Considered Design Platform.

WWF Deeper Luxury Report

WWF via Core77


WWF (World Wide Fund for nature) in the UK has come with a report on deeper luxury. An interesting read for anyone who is involved in the industry of jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, clothing, etc.

WWF-UK ranked the world's largest luxury groups (featuring brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, IWC, Garnier, Louis Vuitton, etc.) on their social and environmental performance, as well as analyzing relevant attitudes in the luxury industry. Luxury is about being and having the very best! It's not about following a brand because everyone else does!

With the report WWF-UK urges luxury companies to put sustainability issues at the heart of their business strategy and to benchmark their progress.

The report is written by Jem Bendell and Anthony Kleanthous, and published by WWF-UK in November 2007, the full report is available for download free of charge here: WWF Deeper Luxury Report (pdf)

Nvohk - crowdfunding

Via Springwise

Launched just before the holidays, Los Angeles-based nvohk aims to create the first community-managed, environmentally conscious, surf-inspired clothing company. It is currently recruiting a minimum of 20,000 members (capped at 40,000), each of whom will contribute USD 50 in exchange for the chance to co-develop the nvohk brand. Members will make major business decisions including logo, web and product design along with advertising; they'll also receive 35 percent of nvohk's net profits in the form of points that can be redeemed to purchase products, as well as 25 percent off all nvohk goods. nvohk, meanwhile, will donate another 10 percent of its net profits to environmental organizations selected by its members.

Brendan Lynch, nvohk's president, explains: "Consumers are concerned with the environment and want to be associated with brands that are too. With nvohk, members have the opportunity to make critical decisions that not only affect the direction of the brand, but also make a positive impact on the world around them."

nvohk has just started to recruit members, with only 400 or so signed up by early January, so it's still too early to tell whether it will meet its target number. Assuming it does, however, this will test the power of the crowds on a new level. Joint corporate decision-making by tens of thousands of people should make for an interesting ride; on the other hand, with a common interest in surfing and a shared concern for the environment, they just may have what it takes to make it fly. One to watch!

I'm very curious to see how this will work out. It's a great business idea. 20,000 x 50 USD = 1 million USD...that is definitely enough money to start an eco-conscious clothing line.

www.projectnvohk.com 

The Cellphone Afterlife

New York Times: The Afterlife of Cellphones

Great article on our quest for new cellphones and disposal of the old ones.

Taken in Tokyo 8 years ago...