Recycle old plastic toys into stunning children’s furniture!
In 2018, two designers, Vanessa Yuan and Joris Vanbriel, founders of the Belgian B-type company ecoBirdy, debuted their designs at the Paris Fashion Home Design Show (M&O). Attract many people's attention! A series of children's furniture made from recycled old plastic toys that look like natural marble and are in soft and colorful colors. The design behind the design contains in-depth research on plastic, plastic toys and their recyclability, and is accompanied by a children's picture book to educate children. Describe the idea of circular design and a sustainable future and inspire them to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Yuan and Joris previously worked in design and fashion in Milan, Italy, but they reflected that if there are already so many excellent designs, why do they need to create new things? Too much consumerism is not a good thing for the planet, so for them the answer was to create ecoBirdy to respond to the difficulties faced by today's society with the power of sustainable business.
ecoBirdy has created a recycling system from the recycling of old plastic toys to the design and production of furniture. A four-piece design furniture collection made entirely from recycled plastic and can be easily and completely recycled again.
We also provide service solutions for manufacturing new products for companies or brands that want to solve the plastic problem, such as Mustela, a leading maternal and child care brand, which provides recycling bins for disposable contact lens packaging in the store to ecoBirdy, and produces limited edition children's furniture, tables, Cooperation with Belgian children's toy brand Quut, etc.
The designer made a conscious choice and design to make the waste material look like a beautiful creation and practical furniture. Yuan and Joris responded: "We hope to change people's perception of products made from recycled materials."
He also hopes to further promote sustainable and circular design through aesthetic design, and believes that the supply chain and recycling chain need to be synchronized. Brands must recycle their own products and work with recyclers to design the process more smoothly, so as to have the opportunity to gain fans. consumer!
They sincerely said: "Most industries under the linear economy in the past focused on how to produce faster and cheaper without considering the impact on nature and the afterlife of the product. If we look at the interests of mankind as a whole, but if not Considering the life cycle of a product is an irresponsible approach to the environment. From a business perspective, all companies should want to operate sustainably, so if they can use better circular designs to design products and services, in fact, You’ll earn more, longer!”
Upcycling into a super stylish stroller, giving the next generation a green tomorrow
When Greentom, a Dutch B-type company, was founded in 2013, it named its strollers made of certified recycled plastic (rPET) Green Tomorrow, hoping that its design would allow humans to stop mining petrochemicals and use existing plastic waste. For raw materials to create beautiful products.
In 2016, the design won the Red Dot Award Jury Award. The judges unanimously agreed that the Greentom stroller is inspired by the environment. The frame and seat cushions carefully made of recycled plastic and the high-quality modular design complement each other cleverly. The details of the built-in functions can be easily used. Folds up intuitively and is extremely lightweight yet sturdy, providing maximum functionality and flexibility for every stage of your toddler's growth.
Greentom strollers 85% and above are made from recycled plastic. The frame is composed of only 34 unique parts, can be assembled in five minutes, and is certified according to applicable safety requirements and quality standards. The modular design allows parts to be quickly repaired, refurbished and rented for recycling. For example, when the product life cycle ends, the parts can be disassembled and recycled.
Traditional baby strollers are composed of at least 400 components and have a complex structure. In order to reduce the baby's discomfort, shock absorbers are installed one after another, which also makes the strollers heavier and heavier, and the appearance is not simple.
Greentom's design has a one-piece frame, unlike traditional aluminum alloy strollers that have many parts and weighs only 7 kg. There are two-way models and sleeping basket models. The car frame is universal. You only need to purchase additional accessories, which not only reduces manufacturing carbon emissions, but also saves space.
A Guide to Influential Business Models
In corporate operations, in addition to pursuing the interests of shareholders, we also care about the interests of stakeholders such as community management, environmental friendliness, corporate governance, and employee care. The "B Impact Assessment (BIA)" used in B-type enterprise certification covers operations (Operations) and impact business model (Impact Business Model). The impact business model refers to a company's products/services that create benefits for specific stakeholders and serve as a source of profit.
Taking ecoBirdy as an example, obtaining "environmental friendliness" for "innovative manufacturing process impact business model" means comprehensive environmental practices that focus on redesigning traditional manufacturing processes to protect natural resources. The score is 26.4 points. The brief description is as follows:
- Introduce an environmental management system to track its environmental impact (such as waste generated, energy or emission data, water use, etc.) and continuously improve targets.
- How is ecoBirdy the main way to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing process? Compared with the general industry, ecoBirdy significantly reduces the amount of raw materials required for products, and the implementation method includes recycling or reusing at least 50% of materials.
- ecoBirdy implements zero-waste or closed-loop material processes and eliminates most harmful chemicals from an innovative, environmentally conscious manufacturing process.
※ This article is reprinted with authorization from "B Enterprise", the original title "Plastic waste and old toys are made into children's furniture and strollers, attracting consumers!" 〉. CC co-creation licensing terms do not apply.
Source: Environmental Information Center