In Paris, Baywatch star and animal activist Pamela Anderson has partnered with designer Ashoka Paris to introduce a second line of purses made from apple leather. The leather alternative, called Apple Skin, was invented in 2004 by Alberto Volcan in Northern Italy. The material is made from apple waste leftover from the fruit juice industry. […]
In Seattle, amazon has launched a new line of “everyday essentials” with an emphasis on renewable raw materials. Dubbed Amazon Aware, the line includes apparel, home, and beauty products, all “thoughtfully designed” and made from materials such as recycled polyester, organic cotton, and biobased ingredients. “People want to shop more consciously, and at Amazon we […]
In Chicago, popular beer brand Coors Light will eliminate the plastic ring packaging that holds six packs together by the end of this year, and parent company Molson Coors plans to do the same across its North American brands by the end of 2025. The move will require a nearly $85-million investment in packaging machinery […]
In China, designer Meng Du has launched a line of handbags made from vineyard waste—specifically grape marc, which is made up of the skins, pulp, pips and stems left after grapes are pressed. The textile is produced by France’s Planet of the Grapes. The process involves collecting marc from nearby vineyards, drying it using […]
In Washington state, a company called Tidal Vision has created a material out of crab shells that can treat wastewater. Tidal Vision’s process converts seafood industry waste shells into chitosan, which is further processed into a liquid for wastewater treatment. “Essentially, chitosan works like a magnet on a microscopic level—with chitosan’s positive charge binding to […]
A research team from Russia, India and Thailand has developed a technology for manufacturing a reinforcement composite from waste coconut leaf sheath. When reinforced with a phenol-formaldehyde composite, the material is appropriate for high-demand applications like road construction and rail and airplane interiors as well as housing. “The superior properties of composite made of natural […]
In Austria, startup Arkeon Biotechnologies has raised $7 million to advance its single-step fermentation process for converting carbon dioxide into food ingredients. The company was birthed in 2021 by Evig, a Berlin-based company builder that brought together Arkeon founders Gregor Tegl, Simon Rittman, and Guenther Bochmann. The basis for the company is work performed by […]
In Hawaii, a new green burial option has emerged for ocean lovers. Memorial Reefs International will mix human cremains into concreate “reef balls” that are placed on the ocean floor to provide habitats for ocean life. GPS coordinates are given to family members who wish to visit their loved one’s ocean burial site and will […]
In New York, a team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is developing a composite reinforcing material made of hemp stalk and bioplastic to create a rebar as strong as steel for construction. “There are some natural fibers that have a similar strength to steel for the same weight,” Alexandros Tsamis, a professor of architecture at RPI, […]
In North Carolina, a startup developing a cement alternative produced using microbes has raised $65 million in a Series C funding. Biomason’s patented technology uses natural microorganisms to grow biocement at ambient temperatures without emitting carbon dioxide. The process mimics nature’s use of carbon as a building block, creating cement in a biological, circular system, […]
