Category Archives: environment

computer aided re-design

Freitag is well known for their messenger bags up-cycled from the tarps used to cover trucks in Europe. They have a very clever web-based design application that allows you to custom-design a bag from the tarps they have in stock, even accounting for the pieces that have already been claimed by other customers. It’s a […]

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cast local

Thinking about bamboo? Think again: most flooring made of the eco-friendly material is imported from China – meaning it travels at least 500 miles by truck, over 7,000 miles by container ship and another thousand or so miles by train to make it to the US. This means that even pouring a concrete floor is […]

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paper maker

With a recent announcement of the first in-office paper recycler, it seems like localized life cycles are finally here. According to Treehugger, their process (which only requires tap water) is comparable in efficiency to industrial paper recycling, without the need to ship heavy paper to the recycling plant, to China and back. Plus it’s billed […]

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ecographics

While struggling to illustrate complex environmental phenomena this weekend I stumbled upon this great life-cycle diagram by Mats Ottdal – a cover graphic for a Vector Pollution Library (something I would love to buy).

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boozon

While visiting the UK recently I was surprised by a pervasive public service campaign aimed at curbing alcohol consumption. The government is educating consumers about the appropriate amount of liquor to consume based on a point system (2-3 per woman per day, 3-4 per man) which adorns every container of beer, wine and spirits (above […]

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food life

Halfby’s latest animation takes their bird’s eye view to a national level: this public service announcement illustrates the impact of a shifting food culture. Japan’s diet has shifted away from rice, fish and locally farmed vegetables to include more meat, oils and fats largely imported from other countries. As a result, people are becoming unhealthy, […]

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fly light

While jetting to Inverness today I found an eco-label for airplanes in my Flybe in-flight magazine. The airline – proud of its fleet of new planes – publishes the environmental impact of its aircraft in terms of fuel, carbon dioxide, pollution and noise. Even without being widely disseminated these labels help to engender environmental literacy, […]

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naturalness

Bio-pens are made of 80% cellulose acetate, a material that was invented in 1865 and is now most commonly used in cigarette filters. It is a biopolymer made from wood pulp with an embodied energy of 100 MJ/kg – about six times higher than glass and and twice as much as PET, although it’s biodegradable […]

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