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DEEP DIVE into materials for sustainable design (requires login)

Bioplastic — the good, the bad and the ugly. What is this group of materials and why are they so promising for sustainable design?
Plastic and the circular economy. Recycling is a valuable way to recover resources, but not all recycled plastic is the same.
What the kelp! Exploring this pioneering new breed of materials made from seaweed, including paper, packaging, foams and textiles.
Bio-based material developments — so good you could eat them (almost). Healthy, circular, plastic-free natural polymers for sustainable design.
Paper packaging’s dirty secrets – how to go plastic free, find alternatives to toxic PFAS, and avoid recycling and composting issues.
Sustainable materials in consumer electrical and electronic products – how to design for recycled and recycling to extend the life of materials.
Exploring ethical colour in fashion and textiles – promising innovations that are helping to reduce the impact of dyeing and finishing textiles.
How good is wood – making and building with wood reduces the emissions associated with manufacturing with metal, plastic and concrete.
Textile recycling innovation - with less than 1% of fabrics currently recycled, who are the innovators bucking the global trend?
Magic mushrooms – exploring the huge potential of mycelium biofabrication for design and architecture, and the companies behind the development.
Lightweight and minimum energy structures – high strength-to-weight materials for design, fashion, automotive and architecture.
Going paint-free in automotive design – how to eliminate a very expensive and unsustainable part of the production process with design and materials.

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A database of all of the most important materials to design including plastic, bioplastic, recycled material, metal, wood, textiles and biomaterials.
The materials are backed up by hundreds of comparable and reliable sustainability data points, mechanical properties and physical attributes.
SEARCH materials by category
Product & Furniture
Packaging
Fashion & Textiles
Automotive & Transportation
Architecture & Interiors
Circularity
SPOTLIGHT on the latest and greatest innovations in sustainable material design
Uncaged innovations leather alternative
Arboform liquid wood
Ganni featuring Celium bacterial cellulose leather by Polybion
BAUX coloured wood wool acoustic insulation
Econyl recycled polyamide (PA), nylon
Evoware edible seaweed packaging
Hydro Circal recycled low carbon aluminium
Gmund recycled papers
Ecopel animal free fur
Textiles from banana plant waste
BOOKS about materials and sustainability

The Materials Sourcebook for Design Professionals

Rob Thompson

Designing Lightness

Adriaan Beukers & Ed Van Hinte

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

William McDonough & Michael Braungart

Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals

Rob Thompson

Materials and Design: The Art & Science of Material Selection in Product Design

Michael F. Ashby & Kara Johnson

Made in Japan

Victionary

Materiology: The Creatives Guide to Materials and Technologies

Daniel Kula

WA: The Essence of Japanese Design

Rossella Menegazzo, Stefania Piotti & Kenya Hara

Less and More – The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams

Klaus Klemp