This lamp is made from just three recycled orange peels
One of the key challenges humanity faces is finding ways to turn ‘waste’ into items that are both functional and attractive to use. A design studio in Italy is utilising the country’s most popular fruit to create eco-friendly homeware. On the third day, God said: ‘let there be light.’ Not...
Current in Design
Two designers are turning food waste into home accessories
While minimising the amount of food we throw away should be a top priority in light of the climate crisis, the task of finding a renewed purpose for unavoidable agricultural waste has landed in the hands of talented creatives. In the age of upcycling, we tend to focus on...
This new sustainable lamp uses water to generate light
A Colombian designer has collaborated with renewable energy company E-dina and Wunderman Thompson to build a lamp that generates light using salt water. It could help over 800 million people worldwide with little access to electricity. Ever been stuck out in the wilderness without a torch? Phone run out...
Opinion – Kanye needs to stop using ‘art’ as an excuse for hate
Kanye West’s new ‘Wh*te Lives Matter’ T-shirts are more than a cry for attention. They’re dangerous. This year, Paris Fashion Week burst at the seams with viral conversation starters. Despite a disappointing lack of sustainable sentiment, it would be hard to deny the future-facing stance of Paris’ shows – with a...
Student wins design prize for microplastic collecting robot fish
A student at the University of Surrey has designed a robot fish capable of filtering waterways to collect microplastics. The digital code is open source too, so anyone with access to a 3D printer can create their own. Microplastics are an ecological menace that have only really entered global discourse...
Dutch students build solar power motorhome
Is it a car? Is it a house? Technically this sustainable motorhome is both. Running on solar power, Dutch students created the vehicle to promote cleaner travel and demonstrate the potential of green living. A group of Dutch students from the Technical University of Eindhoven have built a new...
Fanni Sandor’s tiny wildlife sculptures encourage eco-sensitivity
Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created tiny, biologically accurate sculptures that encourage viewers to appreciate the delicacy of even the smallest patches of wildlife. Anyone remember that primary school banger of a hymn that told us God has the ‘whole world in his hands?’ Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created a series of tiny, biologically accurate sculptures that realise such a surreal concept, at least in part. Each of these...
London Zoo places handbag on display to raise poaching awareness
To make a clear statement about animal poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, the London Zoo has displayed a brown crocodile skin bag where its Siamese crocodiles usually reside. Visiting London Zoo presents an exciting opportunity to observe some of the world’s most elusive creatures without ever having to leave the concrete jungle. What you wouldn’t expect to spot is a designer, crocodile leather handbag positioned behind the layer of glass...
Saudi Arabia announces plans for a futuristic city named The Line
The future of architecture could forever be changed by the design of a new vertical city in Saudi Arabia. Fresh details about the project pose it as an epicentre of sustainability, productivity, seamless living, and leisure for millions of people. Of all prosperous nations in the world, Saudi Arabia looks the most motivated to position itself as a leader of the future. Abandoning its dependency on revenue from oil reserves is...
AI-generated piece controversially wins art competition
This year at the Colorado State Fair, a piece of AI-generated art won an award for Emerging Digital Artists. In the days since, online debate about what constitutes ‘real art’ has ignited. If you keep up with Thred, you’ll already be completely in the loop regarding AI-generated ‘text-to-image’ programs and their recent emergence. Canny visual software like DALL-E, NightCafe, and – in this instance – Midjourney, are able to take our...
