All articles tagged with #sustainability
Scientists have turned commercially available silkworm silk into a near-Kevlar-strength material by hot-pressing and fusing fibers at precise temperatures and pressures, preserving silk’s natural structure while boosting toughness, with potential for sustainable, scalable applications in sensors, implants, and lightweight protective materials.
Shein reportedly acquired Everlane, which says it will remain independent and uphold its sustainability commitments, but the deal could broaden Everlane's reach while raising questions about greenwashing, future quality, and the brand's affordable, ethical model.
The Cut reports that Shein reportedly bought Everlane for $100 million, with Everlane’s parent LCatterton and CEO Alfred Chang seeking to clear about $90 million in debt; the move raises questions about Everlane’s radical-transparency, sustainability ethos in the face of a fast-fashion buyer, especially given its public goals to cut emissions and reach net-zero.
Moringa seed extracts can coagulate and remove about 98% of microplastics from water within minutes, offering a low-cost, biodegradable alternative to chemical coagulants with potential added benefits for water clarity and safety.
Colorado’s Repair Cafés, like the Longmont event at TinkerMill, bring volunteers and community members together to fix a wide range of broken items, part of a broader right-to-repair movement aimed at reducing waste and pressuring manufacturers to share repair tools and instructions. The piece traces state laws expanding consumer repair rights from 2022–2024 and the current Senate Bill 90, which would carve exemptions for critical infrastructure tech, drawing support from industry groups while consumer advocates warn it could undermine repair rights. It also emphasizes the empowerment and cultural shift fostered by these volunteer repair days.
As Route 66 marks its centennial, a UK-based EV road trip from Chicago to Santa Monica shows the route is now drivable on electricity thanks to a growing charger network. The three-day, ~300-mile journey highlights charging times from 20 minutes to an hour, the need to pre-plan with PlugShare and ABRP, and occasional detours for charging or nostalgia at vintage diners and gas stations. The slower pace reveals more roadside Americana and a lighter carbon footprint (roughly 150–180 g CO2 per km saved), but rural gaps still pose challenges and higher petrol costs remain a risk for non-EVs.
Holding onto an older smartphone can save money and reduce environmental harm: manufacturing new phones uses scarce materials and drives most device emissions, with cobalt mining in Congo linked to harsh working conditions; e-waste remains high and recycling rates are low. By maximizing a device’s life, you cut costs, reduce your carbon footprint, and even enjoy less screen time in daily life, while tech giants remain financially robust even with slower upgrade cycles.
Google Cloud’s Jack Buser argues that AI can fix the games industry’s unsustainable economics by cutting development time and costs, speeding up marketing and analytics, and enabling new gameplay—helping smaller studios compete and potentially reducing layoffs.
Humans have become a dominant force reshaping Earth, delivering health and progress but also driving climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The Anthropocene isn’t just a crisis—our social, cultural, and cooperative capacities, guided by strong institutions and Indigenous stewardship, can be harnessed to steer transformative, sustainable change for people and the planet.
Scientists at Kyushu University discovered that mixing methanol with iron ions and sodium hydroxide and then exposing the mixture to UV light triggers a rapid release of hydrogen—921 mmol per hour per gram of catalyst—comparable to costly modern catalysts. The approach works with other alcohols and biomass feeds, offering a cheap, abundant iron-based route to sustainable hydrogen production. Although the reaction mechanism isn’t fully understood yet, the simple setup could be replicated widely and help decouple hydrogen generation from fossil fuels; researchers plan to optimize the process moving forward.
Researchers converted balsa wood into an all-in-one solar energy system by delignifying the wood, nano-engineering its channels with black phosphorene protected by a tannic acid–iron layer and silver nanoparticles, then filling the pores with stearic acid for heat storage. The material stores about 175 kJ/kg, converts roughly 91% of sunlight to usable heat, and can generate up to 0.65 V with a thermoelectric generator after illumination ends, while remaining durable over cycling and highly water-repellent. This wood-based approach could enable compact solar storage and heat management in electronics, pending scale-up.
BioFluff, a Paris/New York fashion-tech startup, is making plant-based faux fur as a sustainable alternative to animal pelts, inspired by a 2022 meeting with a bioengineer and a textile recycler, signaling a shift toward field-grown, plant-derived luxury materials.
EU researchers in the Bio.3DGREEN project have created bio-based graphene foams from renewable precursors that are light, highly porous, and capable of absorbing shocks. The goal is a sustainable alternative for damping and lightweight structures in aerospace, automotive, and marine applications, with additive manufacturing in early stages due to processing challenges such as specialized pastes and laser optimization.
Leaked images circulating ahead of BMW’s March 18 reveal purportedly show the production electric 3-series with Vision Neue Klasse styling and the new wheel design. If authentic, the i3 will emphasize sustainability, using recycled materials across the interior and exterior, including PET fabrics and recycled plastics, as it rides on BMW’s Neue Klasse architecture.
An explainer on PFAS in outdoor clothing and the push to PFAS-free options, detailing how traditional PFAS-based membranes (like Gore-Tex) work, why bans are spreading, and practical PFAS-free substitutes (PU membranes, ePE, directional fabrics, and natural fibers such as OPTIM wool and Ventile cotton). The article notes most people don't need PFAS gear, but careful maintenance is required for PFAS-free options; price and durability vary, with PFAS-free gear lasting well with proper care.