California-based company Glad may specialize in dustbin liners and food storage containers, but they recently unveiled a brilliant one-person trash bag tent for camping, music festivals and other outdoor events. The concept was launched at the SXSW 2013 music festival in Austin, Texas, where tents were distributed to campers and festival attendees on the condition that they would use them after the festival as garbage receptacles for cleaning up their campsite.

Read the rest of Glad’s Brilliant Trash Bag Tent Could Solve the Waste Problem at Music Festivals

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Post tags: camping tents, ForceFlex trash bags, Glad trash bags, green initiatives, green tent design, music festival tents, music festivals waste, SXSW 2013 music festival, tent design, tents, waste collection, waste control, waste reduction initiatives

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Post tags: Alien and Monkey design, chair design, earth furniture, furniture design, green design, green materials, green packaging, no waste furniture, recyclable chair, recyclable lamps, sand furniture, Sustainable Outdoor Furniture

UK company Invicta Group has become the first company in the world to make food-safe products from 100% recycled plastic bottles, containers, tubs and lids. Their new rPETable patented process focuses on products made using a breakthrough plastic injection moulding technology. This new approach to recycling plastic ensures that no toxic additives remain in the packaging material. Among the first major brands to test the new technology are Coca-Cola, Guinness and Reckitt Benckiser.

Read the rest of rPETable: UK Company Makes First Ever 100% Recycled Food-Safe Plastic Products

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Post tags: Bisphenol A plastic, food production, food safety, food security, food-safe plastic, health issues, healthy eating, injection moulding technology, Invicta Group recycled plastic, polycarbonate plastics, Recycled Materials, toxic additives, toxic plastic bottles, toxic plastic food containers

Read the rest of Designer Aaron Mickelson Shows How a Product Can Be Its Own ‘Disappearing Package’

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Post tags: aaron mickelson, disappearing package, eco design, green, green design, green packaging, Packaging Design, Sustainable, sustainable design, sustainable packaging

Read the rest of Cute Organic Bakery in Amsterdam Boasts Recycled Shipping Pallets Interior

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Post tags: "green furniture", Amsterdam, ana lisa alperovich, Architecture, bakery, cafe, cakes, De Laatste Kruimel, ecycled Materials, green materials, green packaging, organic food, recycled pallets, scones

In an attempt to reduce their customers’ waste, Starbucks is introducing a reusable plastic cup for frequent customers. At $1 a pop, the logo-emblazoned plastic cups are shaped like their traditional paper cups, and fit regular plastic lids. The staff will even rinse out the cups with boiling water each time you bring it back, in case your office doesn’t have a kitchen sink.


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Post tags: eco design, green design, starbucks, Starbucks eco-friendly, Starbucks reusable plastic cup, sustainable design

Here at Inhabitat we’ve been hoping for, and advocating, biodegradable packaging for years, but now designer entrepreneurs are thinking even bigger; how about packaging one could actually consume? Turning what was a waste product into something that could actually confer nutrition (and would degrade quickly if uneaten), could make litter a thing of the past. Several companies have been working on edible packaging over the last couple of years, and as the idea moves closer to reality, Time magazine even called it a ‘game changer’ for 2012. Read on for a look at the state of the art in edible packaging!

Read the rest of Packaging the Future: Edible Wrappers, Containers and Bags (Yum?)

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Post tags: biodegradable packaging, eco design, edible container, edible packaging, edible wrappers, green design, green food packaging, healthy food, molecular gastronomy, Monosol, packaging the future, Perpeceuticals, sustainable design, sustainable food, sustainable food packaging, sustainable packaging, sustainable produce, wikicell

Foldable Cuts has created a line of greetings that can be turned into a keepsake and shown off. Their range of DIY boat cards consists of designs that can be cut out in pieces and re-assembled into a cute miniature boats. Currently their collection includes a dingy, a sail boat, a cargo ship, a cruiser and a yacht.

+ Foldable Cuts

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Post tags: 3d greeting cards, boat models, diy boat, diy card, diy paper bpats, foladable cuts, greeting cards, greeting cards with models, paper boats

mu mu, a design and manufacturing workshop based in Cambridgeshire, UK, has made a business out of creating sustainable accessories for iDevices. Run by a three-man team, mu mu works with creatives that design, craft, hand finish, package and ship each one of their products. They use local suppliers where possible, and when not, they keep sourcing within the UK to not only keep their carbon footprint down, but to keep money in the local economy.

Read the rest of mu mu Handcrafts Sustainable iPhone Cases That You Can Also Trade in Later

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Post tags: Cambridgeshire UK, handcrafted in the UK, iPhone, iphone 5, made in the UK, mu mu, refurbished cases, reusable packaging, SLIDE 2.0, sustainable hardwood, Sustainable Materials, trade-in program, united kingdom

Bambu Earth is back with a whole new look. Their line of Responsible Soap + Skincare is packaged in handmade seeded artisan paper that grows wildflowers! Bambu Earth believes that what you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it; their packaging isn’t the only thing that their good at. Since our bodies absorb an average of 60% of what we apply topically, their soap and skincare only contains truly all-natural, raw wildcrafted ingredients and is completely free of synthetic junk that you’d rather not rub all over your body. We think that’s pretty awesome.

+ Bambu Earth

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: bambu earth, handmade body products, natural body products, natural skincare, natural soap, plantable packaging, Responsible Soap and Skincare, seeded paper, synthetic-free, vegan body products

Photo: Background pattern of wine bottles corks via Shutterstock

If you are involved in the creative community, you will have noticed the slowly-but-surely growing preponderance of cork as a material used in design. Just in the past few months, my boyfriend bought a cork iPhone case, I was coveting a beautiful cork totebag I saw at Brooklyn Flea, and just a week ago, in consideration of replacing my (very old and crummy) vinyl kitchen flooring from the 80′s, I came across cork as an eco-friendly option. I had seen cork floors used in commercial applications, but hadn’t thought about it before for my own home. Cork is everywhere, and, as I’ve quickly figured out – for good reason!

Read the rest of Amazing Natural Packaging: Cork, a Sustainable Classic

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Post tags: bags, benefits of cork, cork, cork floors, cork in building, cork in design, cork material. cork textile, cork oak, cork properties, flooring, green packaging, packaging, packaging the future, portugal, sustainable cork, Sustainable Materials, uses for cork, wine

Backyard Agrarian, a consultancy and resource focused on sustainable living, has released TareWare – a set of colorful food labels that allow consumers to turn used containers into reusable “unpackaging” for purchasing bulk foods.

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Post tags: backyard agrarian, bulk, food, labels, packaging, recycling, TareWare, unpackaging

Americans may produce more municipal waste per capita than any other country in the world, but improving our recycling rate is one major way we can turn the tide and become a more sustainable society. According to a new report released by As You Sow (AYS), an environmental and social responsibility-focused advocacy group, a significant source of the problem lies in our failure to recycle packaging made from recyclable materials.

Read the rest of $11 Billion Worth of Recyclable Packaging is Buried in American Landfills

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Post tags: As You Sow, carbon emissions, end of life, extended producer responsibility, green jobs, green materials, landfills, Packaging Design, packaging materials, post-consumer content, social responsibility, Sustainable Brands, total life cycle

While Ikea Hackers have done some innovative takes on Ikea products, Berlin-based artist Ida-Marie Corell might have taken the cake. Corell’s ID(E)A, part of Oh Plastiksack!, a co-curated show at The Gewerbemuseum Winterthur in Switzerland, features the artist playing a keyboard in an voluminous blue gown constructed from 555 sturdy Ikea shopping bags. At 59 cents a pop, Corell’s massive blue ball gown isn’t quite the deal some Ikea shoppers might be used to.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: Berlin Artists, ecouterre, Fashion, Ida-Marie Corell, idea, ikea, Ikea Shopping Bag, Luzinterruptus Recycled Plastiksack! Installation, oh, PlastikSack!, recycled fashion design, Repurposed Shopping bag, Switzerland art museum, The Gewerbemuseum Winterthur

Traveling green isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but Canadian company World Centric has just made it a little simpler by launching the world’s first compostable toothbrush. Instead of petroleum-based plastics, their toothbrush is made using Ingeo (a plant-based material), and it comes with its own traveling case, which is also compostable. The 7-inch toothbrush is BPI certified and available in three colors: blue, green and orange.

Read the rest of World Centric Launches World’s First Compostable Toothbrush!

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Post tags: compostable health care, compostable materials, compostable toothbrush, compostable travel items, composting materials, composting toothbrush, green health, green travel, recycleable materials

Send a menagerie of animals in the mail with OOO My Design‘s clever Faunealea corrugated cardboard postcards. While this design may look flat and free of life, if you look a little closer you’ll see that they boast pieces that can be popped out an assembled into adorable earrings shaped as everything from horses to flamingos, rhinos, poodles, cows, turkeys, and kangaroos. Use the remaining “stencil” to create some clones and stage a diorama—or several!

+ OOO My Design

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: cardboard earrings, cardboard jewelry, corrugated cardboard earrings, Faunealea, Faunealea earrings, OOO My Design, postcard earrings

For years environmentalists have wondered why someone doesn’t do something about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Now, it appears Method, a sustainable cleaning products company, has jumped into the challenge with both feet. Method’s new “Ocean Bottle” for hand and dish soap is made from bits of plastic litter found on Hawaiian beaches. Method has been making designer soap for years now, and it was way back in 2006 that they created their first 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottle. Although many said the slowly degrading plastic swirling around in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch couldn’t been reused, Method refused to give up.

Read the rest of Pacific Ocean Trash Cleans Up Nice As Method’s New Soap Bottle

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Post tags: eco soap, great pacific garbage patch, hawaii, method, ocean trash, Recycled Plastic, soap, sustainable bottles, sustainable soap

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Post tags: biodegradable materials, Dream Park, eco design, fast food, green design, green materials, It!me, Joanna Pszczółka, Ochaby, PET, Poland, prefabricated design, recyclable materials, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, timber, Łukasz Brandys

Make a super stylish iPad (or Nook, or Kindle) case from a recycled bubble envelope by following these easy DIY instructions via Creme de la Craft! A bubble mailer becomes the perfect object to upcycle for this DIY project — not only is it the ideal size and shape for a tablet, but its very function is to protect your stuff. You can cover up the envelope with your favorite fabric for a customized look, and creating a couple more to mix things up won’t cost you much more than a little bit of your time. Check out the complete how-to instructions here.

+ Creme de la Craft

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Post tags: Creme de la Craft, DIY iPad case, DIY Kindle case, DIY laptop case, DIY Nook case, How to make an ipad case, recycled bubble envelope ipad case, Recycled Materials

Cutting back on packaging can yield huge environmental benefits by reducing materials while cutting carbon emissions from transporting needlessly bulky goods. With this in mind, UK Supermarket Chain Sainsbury’s just introduced a new slimline toilet roll. Sainsbury’s slimmed-down cardboard tubes are set to reduce the supermarket chain’s carbon emissions by an impressive 140 tons each year.

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Post tags: 20 by 20 sustainability, carbon emissions, cardboard tubes, green products, household products, packaging reduction, paper products, paper recycling, product redesign, sainsbury's environment, slimline toilet roll, sustainability plan, toilet paper, toilet roll, toilet tissue