The all-new 2013 Ford Fusion midsize sedan is set to arrive in showrooms this fall, and it features some highly unusual recycled materials. While a great amount of time was spent on finding ways to make the Fusion’s powertrains fuel efficient, Ford’s engineers also found unique ways to make the Fusion more “green.” The Fusion’s interior is upholstered with REPREVE yarn, a fabric which is made from industrial waste such as old water bottles and denim.

Read the rest of The Interior of Ford’s All-New 2013 Fusion is Made of Recycled Bottles and Cotton

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Post tags: ford, ford fusion, ford fusion hybrid, ford hybrid, green car, green transportation, hybrid cars, Sustainable Materials

These amazing perforated pendant lamps are the creation of product designer Etienne Esmenjaud. By using low-impact and easy to handle materials, such as FSC wood and felt, he is able to laser-cut, pierce and assemble the resulting two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional functional objects that provide plenty of light. His Bud Lampshades (seen above) are made from six easy to join panels that also fold flat for easy portability.

+ Etienne Esmenjaud

Via G.Blog

Photo © Etienne Esmenjaud

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Post tags: "flat pack", Bud lampshade, Desinature, Etienne Esmenjaud, FSC birch, FSC wood, green lighting, green materials, lamp, LED Plumen bulb, plywood, Sustainable Materials, tiny holes

We recently spotted these nifty wool bowls by MIO at ICFF during New York Design Week. Even though they’re not new to the scene, we were so enamored by their cute design, we couldn’t help but feature them here on Inhabitat. The Philadelphia-based studio, run by brothers Jaime and Isaac Salm, puts a huge emphasis on not only sustainable materials, but supporting local businesses as well. The duo recruited one of the last remaining hat makers in the US to craft these 100% wool bowls, whose shapes, colors and materials are influenced by traditional millinery methods.

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Post tags: "philadelphia design", 100% wool, beehive softbowl, design week new york, ICFF, Jaime Salm, millinery, mio design, mioculture.com, roger c. allen, Sustainable Materials

Read the rest of 6 Mind-Boggling Examples of Intricate Tiny Art

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Post tags: anastassia elias, Anja Markiewicz, Art, bonsai, brazilian art, british art, Butterflies, Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls, castles, chinese art, Dalton Ghetti, Dragonflies, ephemeral art, Ephemeral Pictures, Foliages Art, French Art, german art, Japanese art, Japanese Bonsai Series, Kyle Beans, Leaves carving, Matchsticks art, Mona Lisa, Paper origami, Pencil Tips, pencils, Recyclable cardboard, Sustainable Materials, Takanori Aiba, Tiny Origami

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Post tags: Aerodynamic shape, andes mountains, Architecture, Chile, chilean design, eco-tourism, lenga wood, local natural materias, stone, Sustainable Materials, Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa, Torres del Paine

Read the rest of Living Grass Walls Completely Cover the Interior of London’s Dilston Grove Gallery!

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Post tags: Ackroyd & Harvey, Art, Botanical, Dilston Grove, grass interiors, green interiors, south east london, Sustainable Materials

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Post tags: Architecture, biomimicry, clay, eco hotel, eco-tourism, reed, Rufous Hornero, Ryntovt Design, shell stone, Sustainable Materials, ukraine, Wood

New Zealand-based designer Timothy John has created an entire collection of everyday products made almost entirely from felt. His Woven Collection includes a clock, two lamps, a table, and and flower vase made from the warm biodegradable material. By weaving pitch-black industrial felt strips in

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Post tags: "green furniture", biodegradable felt, felt clock, felt lamp, felt table, Felt Vase, green products, New Zealand, Sustainable Materials, Timothy John, woven felt

Read the rest of REC Architects Build a Grass & Glass Modern Building in Mexico

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Post tags: Air quality, Architecture, biodegradable materials, cool building, cuernavaca, glass, local materials, mexico, minimalist architecture, Petate, Rec Arquitectos, round windows, steel, Sustainable Materials

Taking advantage of the renewable and biodegradable attributes of coffee, Spanish designer Raúl Laurí created an innovative, experimental and very cute lamp. Dubbed the Decafé Lamp, it is made from a new composite material made from recycled coffee grounds. Shaped like a cup, this comforting, aromatic luminaire has a switchless design – to turn it on simply pick it up and place it on its base.

Read the rest of Brilliant Decafé Lamp is Made From Recycled Coffee Grounds!

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Post tags: biodegradable materials, coffee grounds, Decafé Lamp, first prize winner, green lighting, Milan Design Week, Milan Furniture Fair, Raúl Laurí, Recycled Materials, recycling / compost, SaloneSatellite Award, Sustainable Materials

Read the rest of Transformations: RISD Students Recycle Everyday Objects Into Incredible New Designs for Salone Milan

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Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable furniture", green design, green lighting, Milan Design Week, Milan Furniture Fair, Recycled Materials, rhode island school of design, risd transformations, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials

Believe it or not, this wooden racer is powered by nothing more than an everyday electric drill. Dubbed Rennholz, which translates to “Race Wood,” the ride represents the ultimate in e-mobility. Not only is the vehicle powered by a Bosch electric drill, it’s also made of custom-fabricated bent plywood, which was chosen as the material for the vehicle since wood is a renewable material.

Read the rest of Rennholz: This Wooden Racer is Unbelievably Powered by an Electric Drill

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Post tags: bent plywood, bosch electric drill, car powered by an electric drill, electric vehicle, green transportation, HAWK, Jirka Robert Wolff, racer powered by a drill, Rennholz, Sustainable Materials

Fireclay‘s new Glazed Thin Brick is a brick alternative that’s eco-friendly, durable and attractive. Utilizing up to 100% local recycled content and finished with a selection of nine new VOC-free natural glazes, the brick can also help earn your project LEED credits. Glazed Thin Brick is made in the U.S.A. and can be used in almost any kind of interior and exterior applications where you would typically use brick.

+ Fireclay Tile

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: fire clay, fireclay, Fireclay Tile, glazed thin brick, glazed tiles, leed credit, materials that earn leed credits, recycled building materials, recycled tile, recycled tiles, Sustainable Materials

‘Sustainable Materials: With Both Eyes Open‘ by Julian M. Allwood and Jonathan Cullen was released today, and you can get a copy for yourself online for free! Production of materials accounts for approximately 1/3 of global CO2 emissions, which is about the same impact as transport, but with much less public scrutiny. ’Sustainable Materials’ looks at options for reducing the impact of society’s use of materials by improving the production processes and using materials more efficiently; a strategy that depends on the efforts of materials producers, businesses, government and consumers together. ‘Sustainable Materials’ is available as a free pdf download here, and if you have questions, you can reach the authors via their Twitter handle: @SMWBEO.

+ Sustainable Materials: With Both Eyes Open

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: architecture materials, books on sustainable materials, building materials, eco-materials, green materials, jonathan cullen, Julian m Allwood, Sustainable Materials, Sustainable Materials: With Both Eyes Open

Read the rest of 6 Unconventional and Unique Uses for LEGO

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Post tags: Animals, ARM, Art, bright bricks, Bronx Zoo, Carl-Fredric Salicath, David Gilday, DIY, drawing machine, Droid phone, green interiors, green materials, I beam, Interactive Objects, led display, lego animals, LEGO bear, LEGO Camera, lego christmas tree, LEGO flamingo, LEGO frog, LEGO giraffe, LEGO gorilla, LEGO Master builders, LEGO printer, lego robot, LEGO stair railing, LEGO tiger, LEGO wall, leon overweel, Marks Residence, Norwegian photographer, NYC apartment, pixelated apartment, PriNXT, robotics, Rubiks Cubes, sean kenney, St. Pancrass Train Station, Sustainable Materials, TLR camera

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Post tags: "green furniture", biomimicry, Bobby Dekeyser, cocoon, Daniel Puzet, DEDON, DEDON Fiber, Fred Frety, German goalkeeper, green products, Nest Rest, non-toxic material, recyclable furniture, recyclable material, Recycled Materials, Recycling initiatives, Sustainable Materials, Treehouses, weatherproof material, zero waste

Read the rest of Peter Gentenaar’s Ethereal Paper Sculptures Float in the Air Like Jellyfish

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Post tags: Art, Decorative Objects, gallery, green design, green materials, Paper artist, paper sculptures, Peter Gentenaar, Recycled Materials, recycled paper, sculpture, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials

Read the rest of Diamond Genesis Room at Sweden’s Icehotel is a Crystalline Cavern of Frosty Luxury

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Antoine Weygand, ice architecture, ice hotel, ice sculpture, icehotel sweden, jukkasjarvi hotel, Roland Toupet, Sustainable Materials, swedish ice sculpture, temporary space

Just as pop-up books give dimension to the stories within, Amsterdam-based designer Robert van Embricqs‘ Rising Table gives poetic form to function. Drawing inspiration from his recent award winning Rising Chair, as well as naturally occurring transformations in nature, his newest creation is part of a series of furniture made from a single, flat piece of wood.

Read the rest of Amsterdam Designer Robert van Embricq Creates a Table as Functional as it is Sculptural

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Post tags: "green furniture", Eco-Inspiration, flat-packed furniture, green home decor, green interiors, green packaging, green products, Robert van Embricqs, Sustainable Building, Sustainable Materials

PEGA Design and Engineering‘s latest award-winning material might just put more paper on your desk — in the form of a laptop computer! The material, Paper PP Alloy, is said to be a strong, sturdy, affordable, environmentally friendly alternative to the plastics and metals that currently encase many of our consumer electronics.

Read the rest of PEGA’s Paper Alloy Could Bring Paper Laptops Our Way

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Post tags: computer recycling, e-waste, green design, green materials, paper laptops, paper pp alloy, paper technology, PEGA, recyclable materials, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials