We’re all aware that products with a short life-cycle are not fantastic for the planet so that’s why ecosurety has sponsored a sustainable design module for the Royal College of Art SustainRCA course in London.
The purpose of SustainRCA is to “foster and champion the role of art and design in developing critical thinking and user-centred approaches to create a positive, equitable and socially empowered future”.
The students have been working on getting more from resources and designing with the ability to easily recycle in mind, so I went along to the SustainRCA end of year show to see what innovative new ideas the students had come up with. Here’s a selection of my favourites from the show:
Ananas Anam: Piñatex™
Carmen Hijosa has developed a product that harnesses the waste created in the pineapple farming industry. The fibres from pineapple leaves can be used to create a viable alternative to leather, called Piñatex™. Not only is it a second revenue stream for farmers but at the end of its life the material can be composted.
Fuzzy Logic
This design uses an adapted Makita power tool and CNC technology to transform felt offcuts. Adam Guy Blencowe worked with a textile mill to find a way to re-use fabric by felting pieces together using their natural properties. By patching felt together new lengths and designs of fabric can be made.
Mono
Spectacles are currently very difficult to recycle due to the multitude of materials used in their construction. Created by Parsha Gerayesh, the entire Mono frame is made from one continuous piece of material, meaning the lenses can simply be popped out and the frames recycled like any other metal.
Robbie Staniforth
Innovation and Policy Director
Robbie is innovation and policy director at Ecosurety. Having spent years building an intimate understanding of the industry’s policies and politics, he uses this knowledge to help shape new legislation and oversees Ecosurety’s growing portfolio of cross-industry innovation projects including Podback and the Flexible Plastic Fund. He has worked closely with Defra during the most recent packaging consultations, outlining the impacts and required transitional arrangements of the UK’s new EPR system and is a member of the government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP). He is also a spokesperson for the company and regularly uses his influence to communicate the importance of environmental responsibility to external stakeholders.
Useful links
A provisional agreement has been reached on the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
Read More >>The world’s first United Nations-backed International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy will be established in the UK.
Read More >>Impact Recycling is partnering with Syklo Ltd, a circular economy growth company, to build the largest plastic recycling plant in Finland, using innovative BOSS technology.
Read More >>
