Learning how to recicle absolutely everything…
The state of eco-friendly surfboards with Ryan Lynch of Timber Surf Co.
Surfboards are pretty difficult to produce. There’s a million and one nasty chemicals that go into every aspect of the board-building process, and materials are sourced from all over the world. And once built, surfboards are very, very difficult to recycle or dispose of cleanly. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re willing to put in the effort to find locally sourced, sustainable materials, and think outside the box, eco-friendly surfboards are absolutely within reach. That’s exactly what Ryan Lynch is doing at Timber Surf Co. in Santa Cruz, Calif. Ryan uses wood from fallen redwood trees in the Santa Cruz mountains to make his boards, as well as low-density EPS foam and bio-resin. And the finished product is a high-performance and long-lasting surfboard that both Ryan and the customer can feel good about.
3D Printed architecture that show why this trend is the future of modern architecture!
Nowadays almost everything is being 3D printed, so why should architecture be an exception? Many architectural firms are adopting 3D printing as their preferred technique to build structures. It’s a simple, efficient, and innovative technique that lowers the risks of errors, and also manages to save on time! 3D printing eradicates a lot of tedious steps during the construction process and simplifies it. It is being used to build homes, habitats on Mars, and even coral reef islands! The potential and possibilities of 3D printing in architecture are endless and mindblowing. We’ve curated a collection of 3D-printed structures that left us mesmerized – from a sustainable global habitat to a house fit for Mars, we’ve got a little something for all types of arch lovers!
Constructed like Lego, these modular shoes are made entirely from compostable materials!
You either already own a lot of shoes or you regularly buy a lot of new pairs of shoes. I fall in the latter category. I probably hold onto my shoes longer than recommended, maybe purchasing a new casual pair of shoes to wear every day, every year and a half. In the United States alone, around 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away each year and end up in landfills where they take up to 40 years to decompose. That means by the time I turn 64, my pair of Adidas sneakers will finally be broken down. Noticing the environmental impact that shoe waste has on the earth, Laura Muth created ‘Shoes with an Expiration Date,’ a prototype of modular sneakers made entirely from compostable material.
Generally, fast-fashion uses carbon-intensive, nonrenewable resources like petrochemical textiles to construct items like shoes, making the industry one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in circulation today. While Muth’s ‘Shoes with an Expiration Date’ prototype is not market-ready and still in the mock-up phase, the designer aims to create a pair of shoes whose expiration date is far shorter than that of the shoes made from nonrenewable resources like plastic currently on the market. Ditching toxic glue for an isolable, modular structure, the individual parts of ‘Shoes with an Expiration Date’ are tied together with a compostable shoestring.
‘Shoes with an Expiration Date’ are handmade by Laura Muth from locally sourced, compostable materials. The sole of the shoe is molded with comfort and support in mind from latex extract derived from dandelion root, straw, sawdust, and natural dyes.
The string and side support that holds the shoe together are made from cellulose felt and woven hemp. As the shoes are currently constructed, the bottom sole is soft and supportive but does not seem as long-lasting and heavy-duty as the plastic ones currently available on the market. As ‘Shoes with an Expiration Date’ is still in the prototype phase, rest assured that fine-tuning in shape, structure, and support is on the way.
I hope this post will help to inspire others such as students, teachers, entrepreneurs… and all the future generations. Our planet needs these kind of actions and ideas! – Christine Hart
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