Last year Cloudgate Design brought us the Cardboard Christmas tree, and this year they’ve just launched the all new SMALL Cardboard Christmas Tree, which at 1 ft tall makes a great gift, is easier to transport, and works well as a table centerpiece. Like its larger 3 ft. tall predecessor, the SMALL tree is a nifty extended use of recycled corrugated cardboard and comes ready-made with decorations.

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Post tags: Cardboard Christmas Tree, green christmas, green design, holidays, sustainable design, the cardboard tree

Designer Harc Lee has created a “naked” Coca Cola can that forfeits Coke’s typical bold red and white stripes in favor of au naturale silver. The aluminum can is created without using any paints or dyes, and stands to greatly reduce pollution and energy use associated with producing and recycling soda cans.

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Post tags: Coca Cola, Coca-Cola Classic, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Gizmodo, Harc Lee, naked can, paint-free soda can

The beautiful thing about upcycled materials is that the end results often bear no resemblance to the original items. Such is the case with sculptor Kris Kuksi’s toy sculptures, which are constructed out of old toys, statues, and mechanical parts.

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Post tags: Art, Artist, eco-art, green design, kris kuksi, recycled toy sculptures, sustainable design, toys, upcycling

With all the controversy and outrage surrounding the presence of BPA in plastic water bottles, KOR has stood by its commitment to encourage individuals to stop buying disposable bottled water with its smoothly styled BPA-free water vessels. This past week they announced a limited-edition series of “Thirst for Giving” bottles that feature beautiful art and provide sales proceeds to non-profits that are working to preserve the environment.

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Post tags: BPA Free, green design, Kor Water Bottle, sustainable design, sustainable water bottle, Thirst for Giving

When it comes to teaching kids to conserve energy, positive reinforcement is the name of the game. Combine that with a cute and fun toy, and you really can’t go wrong. Case in point: Tio, an educational ghost pal and light-switch system for your tot that teaches them how cool turning off lights when we don’t need them can be. When lights are left on for only a short time, Tio smiles and is green. The longer kids leave the lights on, the madder Tio gets! Did we mention that you can use all the money you save on the electricity bill towards your little conservationist’s college education?

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS>

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Post tags: eco toy, energy ghost, energy saving toy, green educational gift, green toy, tim holley, tio

I know, it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet, but this year Treehugger is starting early and are taking it slow. Let’s face it: with all that rushing, consuming, and bargain-hunting, the holidays can be darn stressful. So this year, following the best of the methodology pioneered by the revolutionary Slow Food Movement, Treehugger is taking them back. We’re putting the brakes on stress and over consumption and making a return to those idyllic holidays of old with our Slow Gift Guide, consisting of 12 categories and over 100 gifts. Check them all out after the break.

Treehugger 2009 Gift Guide: Have a Slow Holiday >

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Post tags: green design, green gift guide, holidays, presents, Shopping, sustainable design, treehugger slow gift guide

Industrial design lab GR recently launched a clever new product called the ‘Aqua Jar’ that transforms any plastic bottle into an easy-pour pitcher. Formed from biodegradable and recyclable plastic, the attachment perfectly fits the universal coil of any plastic bottle, creating an attractive and sturdy mount allowing for water to be served anywhere with ease. Available in orange, graphite and frost, the Aqua Jar for Balvi was launched as part of the ZOCO exhibit at last month’s Valencia Design Week. Now if only they could come up with something for the orange juice carton!

+ GR Lab

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Post tags: aqua jar for balvi, gr, green design, Recycled Materials, Recycled Water bottles, sustainable design, valencia design week, water bottle pitcher

Practically every household in America has its own tool set, drill, and ladder… but why? Most people don’t use these things on a daily basis, and due to their hardworking heritage these items tend to last forever; when’s the last time you wore out a hammer? Enter NeighborGoods, a service that seeks to cut down on redundant consumption and save households the cost of buying their own toolshed by enabling networks of borrowers. Perfect for those times when you need a drill for a day, or a saw for a few hours — plus you’ll actually have a chance to meet your neighbors and benefit your community. NeighborGoods was recently launched publicly in Los Angeles, and we hope to see borrowing hubs popping up everywhere in the months to come.

+ NeighborGoods

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Post tags: borrowing service, community, green design, lending, neighborgoods, social networking, sustainable design

What if you could design your own lighting fixture in the time that it takes to unscrew a light bulb? That’s the premise behind Daniel Becker’s Spark system, a series of energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be linked together to form beautiful light sculptures.

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Post tags: daniel becker, energy efficient lighting, green design, green Interiors, LED lights, Products, sparks, sustainable design

An abandoned bowling alley finds a second life in this beautiful series of furniture by LA-based designer/woodworker William Stranger. Crafted from reclaimed strips of wood salvaged from a local defunct Tava Lanes Bowling alley, the collection springs to life in a variety of forms including a series of wall hangings and a low coffee table.

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Post tags: Bowling Alley, green design, green furniture, green Interiors, reclaimed furniture, Recycled Materials, second life, sustainable design, William Stranger

A lot of us can recall spending hours upon hours of stacking colorful Legos into shapes and sizes that tickled our imagination as children. While some of us outgrew that phase, thankfully some of us didn’t forget the charm of the little Lego man’s smile or the amazingness contained within every little block. As Parisian designers Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti have proved with their chromatic Munchausen Lego Kitchen: you’re never to old to play with Legos!

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Post tags: diy design, green design, green Interiors, Green Kitchen, Green renovation, lego kitchen, Munchausen Lego Kitchen Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve got a pile of chargers left over from retired cell phones. You can’t use them with your new phone, but finding an innovative way of recycling the tangled up mass of wires can be difficult — quite the ecophile’s conundrum. Luckily, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) aims to revolutionize the cell phone industry. The UN group recently unveiled its Universal Charging Solution, a charger that can be used in all future cell phone makes and models — as long as cell phone companies comply.

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Post tags: eco-friendly cell phone, GSMA, International Telecommunication Union, universal cell phone charger, Universal Charging Solution

Pesticides. Genetic-modification. Mistreated animals. It could just about kill anyone’s appetite to hear about all the horrible news about food production. Fortunately, the emerging food revolution focuses on both health and re-establishing the connection between people and the food they eat (making it harder to abuse our food sources). Designers are both leading and answering this shift in interest. Philips Design has begun an investigation called ‘Food Probe’ that looks at current social trends and how this may affect the way that people will eat in the future — and how this will manifest in design. Their investigation includes three parts: a self-contained farm for the kitchen, a nutrition farm and a high-tech cooking device.

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Post tags: aquaculture, aquaponics, city farms, food production, food systems, futuristic food systems, healthy eating, hydroponics, nutrition, urban agriculture, urban gardening

With so many slick electric motorcycles on the horizon, it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify the use of polluting, petroleum-powered older models. But instead of sending old Vespas to the trash pile, Spanish design studio Bel & Bel has a more creative solution: turn the stylish relics into snazzy pieces of furniture!

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Post tags: bel and bel, green furniture, upcycling, vespa

The kitchen of the future was going to be so high-tech. Frigidaire’s Dream Kitchen of Tomorrow had it all; an IBM punch card recipe file, automatic dispensing and online TV ordering. And that’s not all – read on as we take a look at several extraordinary retro-futuristic kitchens to see how they’ve withstood the test of time.

Read the rest of The Kitchen of the Future Today

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Post tags: Green Building, green design, interior design, kitchen of the future, Products, sustainable design