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.

Read the rest of Tiny Tabletop Cardboard Christmas Tree from Cloudgate Design

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

When a beloved pet passes away, it’s only natural to want to keep their memory close – but how close?!! A few very, er, enterprising companies are giving mourning animal lovers the opportunity to wear the remains of their dearly beloved furry friends as pearls or even diamonds. Technically, this faddish practice has some basis in eco-fashion (since it’s definitely better than unethically sourced jewels) but is it good for grieving pet owners’ mental health or just a sign that their sanity is already beyond repair?

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Post tags: cremated pet pearls, dead pet jewelry, doggie diamonds, pet ashes, pet diamonds, wearing your pets as jewelry

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.

Read the rest of Kris Kuksi’s Recycled Toy Sculptures Will Scare the Kids

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

This smart Upcycle Ottoman by Gus* Modern is made of repurposed jute bags that were once used to carry organic fair trade certified coffee. Produced in a limited quantity, each piece is unique and shows the branding and markings of the bags used in the process. No word if they still carry that wonderful coffee scent, but you can still identify which company produced the beans and where they came from.

+ Gus* Modern

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Post tags: "green furniture", eco furniture, eco ottoman, eco-friendly furnishings, eco-friendly ottoman, Gus Modern, upcycle ottoman, upcycled, upcycled furniture, upcycled ottoman

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

When it comes to kicks, the rarer the better. And if you’re looking for originality, we guarantee you won’t find another pair quite like these upcycled junk-metal Jordans by artist Gabriel Dishaw. He whips metal and electronic scraps from old computers into crazy DIY shoe sculptures that will have any sneakerhead foaming at the mouth. We don’t advise wearing them due to the jagged edges, but they’re certain to be conversation starters when placed strategically on your coffee table.

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Post tags: dunks, eco shoes, eco-art, eco-fashion, Gabriel Dishaw recycled metal sneakers, jordans, Nike art, sneakerhead, sneakers, Sustainable Fashion

Self proclaimed pack-rat and the design mastermind behind the eco-fashion line Study Tara St. James knows how to make upcycling look good. So we weren’t surprised to see that her latest endeavor takes something as mundane as old zippers and transforms them into objects of desire fit for the pages of Vogue (Anna Wintour, if you’re reading this, give Tara a call). Check out all of Tara’s beautiful beribboned, and shockingly affordable, necklaces and accessories before they all get scooped up!

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Post tags: eco friendly accessories, eco friendly jewelry, eco-fashion, recycled jewelry, recycled zippers, Sustainable Fashion, Tara St. James recycled zipper jewelry, upcycled jewelry, zipper jewelry

DRUMROLL PLEASE…

The results of our Green Halloween Costume Contest are finally in! Thank you to everyone who entered – we couldn’t be more psyched about the amazing homemade entries we got pouring in. It wasn’t easy, but we finally narrowed it down to 15 fabulous finalists and then left it up to YOU to choose your favorites. So with out further ado, here are the winners!

Read the rest of ANNOUNCING the Winners of the Inhabitat Green Halloween Costume Contest!

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Post tags: green halloween contest winners, Green Halloween Costumes, halloween costume ideas, Inhabitat Green Halloween Costume Contest, inhabitat halloween contest, sustainable halloween costumes

One of the main principles of permaculture is that “the problem is the solution.” Problem: tons of waste cups created by attendees of the OutsideLands concert in San Francisco. Solution: a fabulous recycled cup canopy. BIOS Design Collective tapped a keg and invited their friends over for a canopy party, building a gorgeous wave of concave color at Stable Cafe just in time for Architecture and the City.

Read the rest of re:Use Canopy Upcycled from Plastic Cups by BIOS Design Collective

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Post tags: aiasf, beer keg, BIOS, Canopy, eco-art, OutsideLands, Recycled Materials

High Density green living is on the rise in Elwood, Australia with Crosby Architect’s new Elwood Green project. Living up to its name, the high-density apartment building will house 25 units that are expected to receive an average 6-star rating – the highest honor currently available from the Green Building Council of Australia. What comes as a bit of surprise is the lack of active systems assisting in the green rating, which just goes to show that old ingenuity and smart design can create buildings every bit as sustainable as the most high-tech structures.

Read the rest of Elwood Green: 6 Star Sustainably Built Apartment Complex

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Post tags: 6 star Rating, Crosby Architects, Elwood Green, Green Building, Green Building Council of Australia, Sustainable Building

It never ceases to surprise us that much of good, sustainable design is also deliciously fun. Take Debbie Wijskamp’s paperpulp cabinets, for instance. They are what their name implies: drawers and shelves made out of pureed paper mache. And while I want to write sophisticated sentences with phrases like ‘materials reuse’ and ‘resource conservation,’ I just can’t help thinking about how glorious it must be, in a third-grade sort of way, to mash paper into furniture. Wijskamp’s process validates these daydreams.

Read the rest of Recycled Paperpulp Cabinet by Debbie Wijskamp

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Post tags: "green furniture", cabinet, Debbie Wijskamp, eco furniture, eco-friendly furniture, furniture recycled materials, paper mache, paper pulp, Sustainable Materials

What began as an assemblage of 1,000 empty beer cartons pulled together by residents in East Germany has now evolved into an incredible open air public library. Designed by Karo Architekten in collaboration with local residents, the grassroots project revitalizes a post-industrial district in Magdeburg, Germany by creating a cultural center and pop-up library where books are free to take and leave 24 hours a day. Opened this past June, the project introduces plenty of green space and reuses the facade of an old warehouse to beautiful effect.

Read the rest of Stunning Open Air Library Pops Up in East Germany

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Post tags: book sharing, east germany, green design, karo architects, magdeburg, open air library, post-industrial renovation, public library, Recycled Materials, 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.

Read the rest of Recycled Bowling Lane Furniture is Right up Our Alley

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

Decommissioned school buses get sent to the scrapyard every day, so sculptor Christopher Fennell created this brilliant yellow bus shelter to keep the spirit of these buses going round and round. Situated in Athens, Georgia, the shelter is composed of three iconic yellow school buses dating from the years ‘62, ‘72, and ‘77. To create it Chris carefully chose pieces from the scrapped buses and then welded them together along with seats taken from an old city line. We love how the shelter’s beautiful reuse of salvaged materials perfectly suits its new purpose as it stands ready to welcome passengers as they wait for their next bus.

+ Christopher Fennell

Via SpaceInvading

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, bus shelter, christopher fennell, green design, Recycled Materials, repurposed school bus, school buss, sustainable design

Is that the vampire dude from Twilight?

Eeeeek! These taxidermied toppers and pigeon-wing pendants may get your gag reflex going, but they’re actually much more humane than the horrible and cruel mink coats and furs that we’ve been brainwashed to think of as “luxurious.” RP/Encore, with the taxidermy expertise of Reid Peppard, who happens to be vegetarian, makes their skin-crawling collection of jewelry and accessories out of rat bodies, guinea pig feet, and preserved pigeon feathers. The cool part? The “materials” that make these pieces extra “unique” all come from animals who have gone to that big vermin graveyard in the sky as a result of natural death, pest control or car accidents. If you ask us, that makes these artfully preserved necklaces, hairpieces and coin purses WAY less disgusting than animals carcasses that have been slaughtered just to sew them into fur coat.

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Post tags: eco-fashion, green fashion, Reid Peppard, RP/Encore taxidermy accessories, upcycled accessories, upcycled jewelry