Rie Sakamoto knits rubber bands together like yarn for elastic garments
Japanese designer Rie Sakamoto replaced yarn with rubber bands for her knitted fashion collection, which aims to showcase this stationary item's overlooked qualities. More
-
RCA students develop SaltyCo sustainable fabrics using seawater plants
Students from the Royal College of Art have made fabrics from plants grown in seawater, providing a potential solution for the currently freshwater-intensive fashion and textile industries. More
Kaldewei combines steel and glass to create easy-clean bathroom surfaces
Dezeen promotion: German manufacturer Kaldewei has developed a patented version of steel enamel that prevents mildew and discolouration from latching onto bathroom surfaces. More
Five projects that use latex in weird and wonderful ways
Since Harikrishnan's inflatable trousers blew up on the internet last week after first being featured on Dezeen, we've rounded up five latex projects – spanning fashion, accessories and installations – that use the material in surprising ways. More
Kenoteq launches brick made almost entirely of construction waste
Scottish startup Kenoteq has launched the K-Briq – a more sustainable building brick that is unfired and made of 90 per cent construction waste. More
Julia Olanders makes "toxic" vases from insulation foam and concrete
Stockholm-based designer Julia Olanders has used construction materials that are usually hidden in buildings to create a series of decorative vases for her Betweenness project. More
Generate and Placetailor to build carbon-neutral CLT apartment block in Boston
Architecture studio Generate and developer Placetailor have unveiled plans to build a carbon-neutral apartment block in Boston using a cross-laminated timber "kit of parts". More
Gregg Moore creates restaurant's tableware using waste bones from its kitchen
Ceramicist Gregg Moore has created crockery for the Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant outside New York, that is made from the bones of the very cows whose dairy and meat is served. More
MIT nanotube technique suggests greener way to make aeroplane parts
MIT engineers have found a new way to create aerospace-grade carbon-fibre composites using only one per cent of the energy of current methods, and none of the ovens and autoclaves. More
Pangaia's puffer jackets are filled with wildflowers rather than down
US clothing brand Pangaia has released a puffer coat, whose filling is made with flowers in a bid to offer a cruelty-free alternative to duck or goose down. More
IBM proposes sustainable successor to lithium-ion battery
IBM has developed a new type of battery that's free of cobalt, nickel and other heavy metals, avoiding the environmental and humanitarian issues related to lithium-ion technology. More
Dezeen's top 10 innovative materials of 2019
From lab-grown spider silk to cellulose, design and technology reporter Natashah Hitti continues our review of the year with 10 of the most interesting materials developed or used throughout 2019, with a particular focus on reuse. More
Heliogen's 1000C solar-heating technology could be key to low-emission cement
American company Heliogen has managed to concentrate solar energy to temperatures of more than 1000 degrees Celsius – hot enough to provide a fossil-fuel-free way to make concrete. More
Nir Meiri turns cabbage leaves into paper-like lampshades
London-based studio Nir Meiri has teamed up with Indian designer Vaidehi Thakkar to create a series of lamps with shades made from red cabbage leaves. More
Plastic bubbles incorporated into high-rise to reduce concrete usage by 35 per cent
A German construction project has saved an estimated 136 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by incorporating air pockets made of recycled plastic within its concrete slabs. More
Katerra launches "elegantly simple" building products brand KOVA
Dezeen promotion: Silicon Valley design-build firm Katerra has launched a brand called KOVA that offers "simple, timeless" building products and materials. More
UK student's fish-waste bioplastic MarinaTex wins 2019 James Dyson Award top prize
An easily biodegradable material that could be "part of a global answer" to single-use plastic pollution has won its inventor, British designer Lucy Hughes, the international James Dyson Award. More
Hyperstealth Biotechnology's "invisibility cloak" can conceal people and buildings
Canadian camouflage company Hyperstealth Biotechnology has patented the technology behind a material that bends light to make people and objects near invisible to the naked eye. More
Recycled tyres form pavement that self-repairs when it rains
Rain would repair rather than damage roads if they were made of the tyre-based pavement invented by Israel Antonio Briseño Carmona, a Mexican student and winner of the nation's James Dyson Award. More
Re-Use, Re-Think, Re-Imagine showcases craft pieces by seven artisans
An exhibition exploring how makers are recycling and repurposing materials has opened at Make, a gallery dedicated to craft run by Hauser & Wirth in the Somerset town of Bruton. More