Sustainable Design

Highlighting the best and worst in sustainability, inspiring sustainable design for a happier future.

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Fairphone

Fairphone is a social enterprise working to create a fairer economy and change how things are made. We open up supply chains, solve problems and use transparency to start debate about what’s truly fair.

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Reliefwatch

Provide those in need with quality care by empowering health organizations around the world.

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Hashtag Killer

Water is life

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Help, I want to save a life

We turned a package of over-the-counter bandages into a simple marrow donor registry kit, and an everyday act into a chance to save a life.

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Worn Wear

This short film takes you to an off-the-grid surf camp in Baja, Mexico; a family's maple syrup harvest in Contoocook, New Hampshire; an organic farm in Ojai, California; and into the lives of a champion skier, a National Geographic photographer, and a legendary alpinist.

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Don't Buy This Jacket

Patagonia basically cops a plea and admits that even with its sustainable practices in place, the carbon footprint of the garment depicted in the ad is much higher than anyone would think. Huge amounts of water and other energy resources are required for the manufacturing process of virtually all clothing.

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The Next Black

'The Next Black' is a documentary film that explores the future of clothing. Watch as we meet with some of the most innovative companies on the planet to get their opinion on clothing and its future, including: heroes of sustainability, Patagonia; tech-clothing giants, Studio XO; sportswear icon, adidas; and Biocouture, a consultancy exploring living organisms to grow clothing and accessories.

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Popup Parks

Pop up Parks is a social venture. We create vibrant local park spaces on the street to encourage children and their families to spend more time being playful, creative and active outside of the home.

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Phonebloks

Phonebloks is an idea based on a vision, as well as a growing movement. We're an independent organisation helping the mobile phone industry steer development and production that produces less electronic waste than their products do today. We aim to show the industry, through our growing community, what the public wants and what the planet needs.

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The Ceuvel Site

De Ceuvel is a planned workplace for creative and social enterprises adjacent to the van Hasselt kanaal off the river IJ in Amsterdam North. The land was secured for a 10-year lease from the Municipality of Amsterdam after a group of initiators won a tender to turn the site into a regenerative urban oasis.

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Quake-proof cathedral made of cardboard unveiled

The cathedral was designed by Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect who has been building with cardboard since 1986. Since then, Ban has designed everything from an art museum in Metz, France, to emergency accommodationfollowing the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

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Nike MAKING App

Nike MAKING App At Nike, we know that materials are one of the world’s great sustainability challenges. Every decision a designer makes has an impact on the environment. But given the range of options that exist, making informed choices can be a challenge. That is why Nike created the MAKING App, an easy-to-use, designer-friendly tool that puts the power of sustainable design into the hands makers around the world.

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Grow Up Box

GrowUp was founded in 2013 by Kate Hofman and Tom Webster to build sustainable commercial urban farms growing food for local markets. With lots of online talk about aquaponics and uban farming, Kate and Tom wanted to get growing! They decided they needed a demonstration farm – and designed and built The GrowUp Box.

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Cycle Track in Copenhagen

In 2006, a bicycle and pedestrian bridge - Bryggebroen - was opened across the harbour in Copenhagen, connecting the Vesterbro neighbourhood with Islands Brygge on the other side. It was the first fixed link over Copenhagen harbour for a few centuries.

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A lightbulb moment for Dyson and son

Innovation runs in the Dyson family, with Jake refining a last-a-lifetime LED light that can illuminate a whole kitchen

Read more here

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Climate Name Change

Since 1954, the World Meteorological Organization has been naming extreme storms after people. But we propose a new naming system. One that names extreme storms caused by climate change, after the policy makers who deny climate change and obstruct climate policy.

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Cardboard Beach

Designed by the dynamic, two-man Cuban collective Los Carpinteros to transform the Luminato Festival’s Hub,Cardboard Beach is, they explain, “an illusion, the essence of a beach in a dry, urban space, with umbrellas, deck chairs, change booths and breakwaters.”