The Berlin Fashion Week brings the fashion industry to Berlin this week. The bold, the beautiful and the fashion-obsessed have been in town to witness the fashion event. Recession is one word that has been heard the world over for quite sometime now. There has not been a single field that has not affected by it so how could our fashion world escape. So perceiving it with a positive attitude the Berlin fashion Week proved to be a hit with clothing lines made from recycled materials.

Incredible creations from recycled materials:

Liza Arico, a renounced fashion designer came up with amazing designs made from recycled materials. Revitalizing an old handbag with chaotic embroidery liberated from stupor, the designer creates an amazing accessory. Her creation saves you money and at the same time is very chic.

“When I started six years ago, no one wanted to hear about ‘rubbish textiles’,” Liza Arico - who describes herself as Franco-Argentine-Brazilian - creator of the Customisee par (Customized by) label, told AFP.

A French woman Isabelle Teste designed hats and Twiggy-esque, flower power dresses made from plastic bags. Her inspirational creations are affordable and pacify your desire of fashion. Transforming used tablecloths into skirt a firm called German label Redesign displays true artisanship. Adding to the list of its money saving creations is a clothing range for the kids. Giving new life to used men’s shirts by converting them into children’s clothes the firm plays its role very effectively.
Maintaining the “recessionista” spirit, an event named “Fashion Reloaded” was organized today afternoon. The Pamoyo labeled event by Swedish-born Berliner Cecilia Palmer displayed the creation that used only recycled clothes.

Celebrating recessionista spirit:

The Berlin fashion week is celebrating recessionista spirit by appealing to people to carry along their clothes, shoes and accessories and learn the art to breathe new life into them, hence discarding the throwaway culture.

“Encouraging people to do things themselves is fitting when there is a crisis going on,” said Palmer, who describes her motivation as being “as ecological as it is social.”

Thekey.to, a new international trade fair for “green fashion and sustainable lifestyle” showcasing what the blurb calls a “selection of high quality, innovative fashion brands.” It also assures “vibrant mix of street styles and elegance, sustainable innovations and green trends, the newest green developments and most forward concepts.” The number of firms showcasing at Thekey.to clearly depict their growing client base even during recession.

The PC makers, on the other hand, are adorning the lowest positions due to their neglect of substantial environmental policies and reluctance to cut down on emissions.

Even after a year, Nintendo still enjoys a comfortable last spot.

How the point tally looks:

1) Nokia’s comprehensive voluntary take-back program in 84 countries enabled it to lead the tally. It also has started instructing its customers on recycling its products.

2) Samsung strikes a perfect balance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining continuous growth. Samsung has discarded the use of PVC, and has introduced BFR-free models of mobile phone. It enjoys the second position.

3) Sony Ericsson has shown tremendous progress in settling energy issues. Placed third, it suffers.

4) LG Electronics’ commitment to ban PVC totally in household appliance models by 2014 has improved its rankings from eighth to fourth. Its introduction of halogen-free new models of mobile phones keeps it just below Sony Ericsson.

5) Toshiba cuts the GHGs plans to control the absolute reduction at a level of 1.96 million tons by FY2012. Moreover, it successfully launched new LCD TVs with Energy Star compliance.

It shares the fifth position with Motorola, who purchases 15% of its energy from renewable sources and looks forward to increase this to 20% by 2010 and 30% by 2020. It reports that all newly designed Motorola mobile phone chargers exceed the new Energy Star v.2.0 requirements for standby/no-load modes.

6) Philips moves from seventh to sixth place with an improved score of 5.3 points. Philips commits itself to work towards developing IPR based recycling systems. Philips also collects e-waste in Europe and shows commitment towards its take-back program.

Sharp also holds the sixth position for its TVs meet the latest Energy Star. Sharp’s worldwide energy consumption owes it to renewable energy sources.

7) Acer and Panasonic jointly hold the seventh position. While the former rules the PC market in introducing almost PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) free systems, the latter reports to the latest Energy Star energy efficiency standards for external power supplies and TVs.

8) Apple is placed eighth for all its products are now free of PVC and BFRs.

9) Sony seems to be worst affected since it topped the tally last year. It suffered because:

- It reports to eliminate PVC and BFRs by March 2011 whereas the time limit cannot be extended beyond FY2010 under any circumstances.
- It failed to support Individual Producer Responsibility.
- Didn’t do well to extend recycling program beyond North America.
- Didn’t form policies to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

10) Finally, same is the case with Dell too. The PC giant backtracked on its commitment to eliminate PVC and BFRs in all its products by the end of 2009, nor does it have any future programs to do so.

Guide to Greener Electronics:

It is hailed as the green text that reflects the green commitments of the electronic companies. It shows how theses companies have framed policies on recycling, toxic chemicals and the climate change. It also displays their efforts to reduce and nullify carbon emissions and carbon-footprints. Still, the major criteria are elimination of the hazardous substances and recycling the obsolete products. After evaluating them out of 30, companies finally score marks out of 10 for simplicity.

There is nothing like a feeling of contentment while bidding adieu in an eco-friendly way. A Colorado company has come up with its new range of caskets made from all organic plant material to serve your purpose. The eco-friendly coffins biodegrade naturally. These better known as Ecoffins and are a great way of promoting ecologically friendly funeral.

Ecoffin is prepared by using bamboo and banana sheaves that come from the trunk of the plant and peel off naturally without harming the plants. Since nothing else is added during its manufacturing process, Ecoffin biodegrades naturally within a period of six months to two years along with the body it holds. Company’s marketing director, Joanna Passarelli said that Ecoffins are better for the environment than cremating bodies.

These are more eco-friendly alternative to traditional caskets. Ecoffins are delivered complete with everything you need for a final send-off. Selling caskets worth $40,000 in the preceding year, Ecoffins got good response from New Mexico. The Muslim and Jewish communities have shown a lot of enthusiasm for the product. These eco-friendly caskets are available for $800 only.

Amor Coetzee, a 22 year old, fashion photographer from Port Elizabeth is out with his new photo set called ‘Connected’. The photo collection amalgamating beautiful models with tress and branches is simply inspirational. Depicting our relationship with Mother Nature the collection is a great way to celebrate green.

The pictures highlighting Coetzee’s creativity enhances model’s hair with leafy braches, arms are entangled with vines and a massive tree trunk is displayed as a substitute of the legs. This innovative work of art, instigate a feel of affection for the environment. Coetzee must be applauded for his exceptional artistic vision.

Check out the video after the jump:


SAHIMO costs $170,000 to build and weighing at 110 kilograms, is comparatively lighter than other cars . What makes it evermore eco-friendly is its green, 90% carbon fiber construction.

Melemez, a fourth-year engineering student at Sakarya University, reveals that the team looks forward to raise the record to 1,000 kilometers a liter at Global Green Challenge, Australia. Today’s Zaman reports that the very talented team plans to work on a non-piloted aircraft and is already trying to get support from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

Image Source: Idea Ref

Moreover, it’s just a beginning since the foundation aims to build 150 houses in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. It’s the same site where Hurricane Katrina played havoc four-year back; the site was completely devastated. In a way, it’s a move to restore the normalcy and bring life back on track.

What’s more, the duplexes urge people to live as family so that the impact on environment could be minimized.

What makes these duplexes green?

1) The interchangeable floor plans provides for change in size and configuration that best suits the environment. Also, this criterion allowing for more space for more people channelizes the enrgy requirements of the household.
2) The duplexes are more suited to tackle flooding and other related natural calamities.
3) More exposure to sun means more use of solar power. Architects have taken due care of this and hence, have worked on cutting heating and cooling costs. There are courtyards and interior gardens that always keep you surrounded.
4) The simplified construction of these duplexes reduces their footprint as these are stacked one upon the other.

Cheap Chic Weddings.com, is a wedding website that helps you plan a beautiful and elegant wedding without spending your life savings on your big day. The contest called the Toilet Paper Wedding Dress held by the website got an outstanding response, with stunning and innovative creations. The contest is based on the classic wedding shower game where contestants create a gown made of toilet paper, tape and glue to make the blushing bride look gorgeous. This year the prizes were bigger and better than ever. The Grand Prize was a $1000 American Express Gift Card. Second Place got a $500 Gift Card. Third Place received a $250 Gift Card and Runners-Up were given a $100 Gift Card. It could not get bigger than this.

Hit the jump to see the video:

Now this time, it is Mark Langan with his unique artistry. The Cleveland-based artist concentrates upon some unusual fabrics and lends a different meaning to them.

He recycles and reuses the corrugated boards and comes out with sculptural logos, statements and images. It really requires some great skills to cut those cardboard pieces and form layers of them. After it, he seals those pieces with non-toxic glue. Considering the fact that it does not require any computer rendering, the definitive art is praiseworthy. Mark is all for three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Mark Langan’s Art Gallery:

Corrugated Art:

Corporate Logos:

How does his artwork benefit the planet?

Since we know that corrugated is most widely used for packaging purposes and hence, it generates too much of waste and keeps on adding to the landfills. Nearly 78% of it is recoverable. Still, it’s not recycled and only a handful of artists have taken the initiative to make it a part of their creativity. It’s quite possible that people take inspiration from them and start recycling corrugated.

Recycling corrugated, and some cool facts:

Certain waste paper dealers are there across the U.S. who buy old corrugated containers (OCC) and paper bags and sell them to paper mills as raw material. If you want to recycle your corrugated containers, you need to separate the contaminants like strapping, Styrofoam, food waste and floor sweepings from the corrugated. Next, remove the unrecoverable boxes. These should be free from any toxic or hazardous materials. The waste paper dealers usually offer good prices for corrugated containers.

Moreover, the growing demand for and the market value of OCC asks communities to recycle more and more. The corrugated containers are converted into container boards, paper boards, tissues, packaging, exports and other uses.

The Slovenian hydro pumped storage power plant has given all the bicyclists a reason to smile. Built with an innovative approach, it provides riders with an open plain to practice all the possible tricks and stunts they always wanted to with their bikes. What gives the user a blissful pleasure while riding, is the smooth hydro-isolation coated surface.

This interesting power station behaves like a giant capacitor where water can be pumped when there is an excess of energy. For example, if a wind power unit was linked to the power plant, it could store energy when there is a surplus. In conditions when the wind is not blowing, energy could be produced using the stored water, ultimately reducing the impact of the wind’s unavailability.