In Vancouver, an entrepreneur has transformed over 30 million wood chopsticks from restaurants into everyday items such as dining room tables and staircases. The idea for ChopValue actually came from Felix Böck’s girlfriend—now fiancée—after the PhD student expressed frustration during a sushi dinner that there was little interest in his proposal for repurposing waste wood […]
In Italy, architecture firm LCA Architetti has designed a small country house made from natural and recyclable construction materials. The simple design utilizes a prefab timber structure and straw insulation sourced from local rice farmers. The house’s most striking feature, however, is arguably cork cladding in a “wavy textured finish” that reduces the structure’s energy […]
In Russia and Switzerland, researchers are replicating a nanocoating found in fruit fly eyes with potential applications in medicine, textiles, and nanoelectronics. The team, comprised of scientists from Far Eastern Federal University, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, have found the biodegradable coating to have anti-reflective, […]
In New York, two oyster farmers are creating a new revenue stream for the popular shellfish in skincare. David Daly and Ben Gonzalez of Long Island’s Southold Bay Oyster Farm tell Newsday.com their face cream hydrates, moisturizes and softens skin. “We wanted to be able to bring the benefits of oysters to everyone including folks […]
In Taiwan, outdoor gear brand COOR is using yarn made from coffee grounds to manufacture an extremely multifunctional jacket. Dubbed HELIX Multi-Climate 3-in-1, the jacket material made by Singtex using coffee waste sourced from Starbucks as raw material. A detachable hoodie is included if the wearer finds themselves in the cold or rain, while a […]
In Denmark, startup Cellugy has raised €2.38 million (US$2.91 million) to expand production of single-use plastics from cellulose. The seed round funding came from the European Innovation Council Accelerator Pilot Phase 2. Founded by Isabel Álvarez-Martos, Deby Fapyane, and Paruntungan Sihombing in 2018, Cellugy converts sugar into its bioplastic EcoFLEXY, which can be combined with […]
In Georgia, bioplastics maker Danimer Scientific has officially gone public through its previously announced merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Live Oak Acquisition Corp. Under the terms of the deal, Live Oak changed its name to Danimer Scientific, Inc. and began trading under the ticker “DNMR” on the New York Stock Exchange on December […]
In Pennsylvania, a blockbuster beauty product for applying flawless foundation is set to launch a plant-based version. Beautyblender, a now-ubiquitous egg-shaped sponge introduced by makeup artist Rea Ann Silva in 2003 and popularized by the Kardashians and other makeup gurus, will soon introduce a Bio Pure version made with 60% plant-based materials. The switch is […]
In Georgia, single-use dinnerware maker WinCup says it will give away biodegradable drinking straws on January 3, otherwise known as National Drinking Straw Day. Dubbed phade, WinCup’s straws are made from Danimer Scientific’s Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate. As long as supplies last, WinCup will send free straws to people who like them on Instagram or friend them […]
In Japan, Michelin Star chef Shimamura Masaharu has launched a cultured meat startup. The award-winning creator and owner of Osaka’s Unkaku restaurant has launched DiverseFarm as a joint venture with TissueByNet, a company developing cultured cellular tissue technology for producing lab-grown organs. DiverseFarms hopes that TussueByNet’s process, which uses spheroids and Net Molds to […]
