Upcycled crops used to make new, surprising products in Japan

Good News Notes: “Upcycling crops that would have otherwise been thrown away is becoming more popular, from making denim out of sugarcane residue to cooking jam from concentrated banana skins. As there is a wide variety of upcycled products, such environmentally friendly brands are likely to catch the eye of consumers. Residue resulting from pressed…

Austin startup Neutrall as big dreams for eco-friendly glassware

Good News Notes: “An Austin husband-and-wife team is aiming to promote conservation and sustainability one drinking glass at a time. In June, Sarah Scott Mitchell and Ernesto Humpierres launched Neutrall, a line of eco-friendly glassware that is upcycled, which involves taking discarded items and creating something new from it in its current state. The process…

Peder Cho Upcycles Designer Bags Into Just About Anything

Good News Notes: “Got an old Louis Vuitton bag lying around? Do you secretly wish it were a pair of sandals? Fret not, because a new TikTok designer can totally transform it for you. Peder Cho is a 29-year-old designer based in Los Angeles who is turning designer bags into just about anything—from shoes to bikinis. “My business is…

Gravity-based renewable energy storage tower for grid-scale operations

Good News Notes: “Energy Vault, maker of the EVx gravitational energy storage tower, has secured $100 million in series C funding. The investment was led by Prime Movers Lab, with additional participation from SoftBank, Saudi Aramco, Helena, and Idealab X. The company said capital raised will support plans to ramp up deployments of the EVx platform for customers in…

Israeli start-up devises way to convert used nappies into green plastics

Good News Notes: “UBQ Materials is researching a way for turning common household waste into sustainable plastics. The Tel Aviv based start-up is set on developing a material out of the likes of paper, mixed plastics, food residue and dirty diapers that could serve as a substitute to conventional plastic, wood and concrete. This material…

Gaza cafe complex serves up lessons in recycling alongside drinks

Good News Notes: “As a model of creative recycling in one of the most densely populated places on earth, a Gaza Strip cafe is serving up a healthy dose of environmentalism alongside its signature morning coffee. The beachside venue is part of the “Sea is Ours” co-operative, a complex built of reused wooden poles, plastic…

Timberland Launches Upcycling Program to Extend its Products’ Lifecycles

Good News Notes: “Timberland will launch ReCircled, a recycling and upcycling program that will fuel the retailer’s circular design and development cycle. The initiative is a major step in Timberland’s goal of having a net positive impact on nature by 2030, through reuse and promotion of regenerative farming practices. Starting in August 2021, ReCircled will let…

Ecology of the Home: Upcycling Goes Russian

Good News Notes : “Altering an old shirt or putting a patch on your favorite jeans means not only saving on buying a new thing but also saving your house from clutter — and maybe even saving the environment. Four years ago Valeria Tsvirko founded the “ANTYPlyushkin” project in a St. Petersburg library communication center. She originally…

Sony evolves sustainable packaging from bamboo sugarcane+recycled paper

Good News Notes:  “sony reveals a sustainable and eco-friendly packaging material made from bamboo, sugar cane fiber, and post-consumer recycled paper. cases, outer box, inner box, and protection pads can entirely be made of ‘original blended material’, a recyclable, durable, and long-lasting paper material produced without plastic and coloring. by changing the blending analogy, its body can be transformed into multiple…

SC Johnson Partners with Brewers and Bucks to Upcycle Arena Cups

Good News Notes: “Racine, WI­–based SC Johnson, the household products company, is taking sustainability in a new direction — upcycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) cups from professional sports events into bottles for Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner. The company has partnered with Milwaukee’s baseball and basketball teams, the Brewers and the Bucks, to implement the program. In partnership with…