Designers Turn to Environment-friendly Materials
2023-01-22
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1Designers are increasingly using different kinds of materials to produce products that do not harm the environment.
2Reused plastic bottles, wood, plant fiber, and even seaweed are being used in place of traditional materials for household goods and clothing.
3Nina Edwards Anker's sconces and chandeliers look like ancient pieces of paper placed around electronic lights known as LEDs.
4But a closer look shows that they are made of algae.
5Anker came up with the idea while working on a doctoral research project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.
6Anker chose not to hide the dried algae.
7"From the beginning, we wanted to keep the integrity of the material, and display its unique properties," Anker said.
8She is one of many designers thinking about traditional materials.
9She wants to find ways to mix design ideas with production and supply methods that do not use up resources.
10Heimtextil is an international trade show, or fair, for new textiles in Frankfurt, Germany.
11This year's fair placed attention on making new products that came from reused materials.
12Olaf Schmidt is Heimtextil's vice president of textiles and textile technology.
13"We'll see companies demonstrating how inorganic materials like nylon, plastic and metal can be reused - for example, carpet tiles that can be dismantled at the end of their life and used as a raw material for new tiles," he said.
14He added, "And there's seaweed, used to produce acoustic mats and panels that provide great insulation, are fire-resistant and regulate humidity well...At the end of their life, the panels can be shredded and reused."
15Fashion industry expert Veronika Lipar described the field's most important change - a move to sustainability.
16She said, "The industry is trying to minimize its" effect "on the environment and no longer be the biggest polluter."
17Patagonia, North Face and Timberland are among the companies now using natural materials to produce goods.
18Italian company Frumat has developed a plant-based leather made from the waste created by apple juice makers.
19Two Mexican developers, Adrian Lopez Velarde and Marte Cazarez, have created a leather they call "Desserto" using nopal cactus leaves.
20Cactus plants are of interest to new material developers because they can live in hot climates and poor soil.
21Pinatex helps support farms in the Philippines by using waste from the pineapple harvest to create material that is sold to makers of shoes, clothing and other products.
22And Bolt Threads, a company based in California, created Mylo, a mycelium-based leather that is used by companies like Adidas, Lululemon and designer Stella McCartney.
23I'm John Russell.
1Designers are increasingly using different kinds of materials to produce products that do not harm the environment. 2Reused plastic bottles, wood, plant fiber, and even seaweed are being used in place of traditional materials for household goods and clothing. 3Unusual materials 4Nina Edwards Anker's sconces and chandeliers look like ancient pieces of paper placed around electronic lights known as LEDs. 5But a closer look shows that they are made of algae. 6Anker came up with the idea while working on a doctoral research project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. 7Anker chose not to hide the dried algae. "From the beginning, we wanted to keep the integrity of the material, and display its unique properties," Anker said. 8She is one of many designers thinking about traditional materials. She wants to find ways to mix design ideas with production and supply methods that do not use up resources. 9A show for new materials in Germany 10Heimtextil is an international trade show, or fair, for new textiles in Frankfurt, Germany. This year's fair placed attention on making new products that came from reused materials. 11Olaf Schmidt is Heimtextil's vice president of textiles and textile technology. 12"We'll see companies demonstrating how inorganic materials like nylon, plastic and metal can be reused - for example, carpet tiles that can be dismantled at the end of their life and used as a raw material for new tiles," he said. 13He added, "And there's seaweed, used to produce acoustic mats and panels that provide great insulation, are fire-resistant and regulate humidity well...At the end of their life, the panels can be shredded and reused." 14Fashion industry expert Veronika Lipar described the field's most important change - a move to sustainability. She said, "The industry is trying to minimize its" effect "on the environment and no longer be the biggest polluter." 15Many companies using other materials 16Patagonia, North Face and Timberland are among the companies now using natural materials to produce goods. 17Italian company Frumat has developed a plant-based leather made from the waste created by apple juice makers. 18Two Mexican developers, Adrian Lopez Velarde and Marte Cazarez, have created a leather they call "Desserto" using nopal cactus leaves. Cactus plants are of interest to new material developers because they can live in hot climates and poor soil. 19Pinatex helps support farms in the Philippines by using waste from the pineapple harvest to create material that is sold to makers of shoes, clothing and other products. 20And Bolt Threads, a company based in California, created Mylo, a mycelium-based leather that is used by companies like Adidas, Lululemon and designer Stella McCartney. 21I'm John Russell. 22Kim Cook reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23___________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25sconce - n. an object that is attached to a wall and that holds a candle or an electric light 26chandelier - n. a large, decorated light that hangs from a ceiling and has branches for holding many light bulbs or candles 27doctoral -adj. related to the highest degree given by a university 28integrity - n. the state of being complete or whole 29unique - adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else 30textile - n. a material that is woven or knit 31dismantle -v. to take an object apart or to break something down 32acoustic - adj. of or relating to sound or to the sense of hearing 33mat - n. a small piece of material used to cover the floor or ground 34fashion -n. related to the industry of making things that people wear 35insulation - n. a material or substance that is used to stop heat, electricity, or sound from going into or out of something : a material that insulates something 36mycelium - n. a group of fungal threads