American eco-fashion visionaries

Botanical shoe design by Kristen Dill

If Tim Burton had an eco-fashion line for Target, here is what it would look like. Kristen Dill’s designed creations include found botanical stems, leaves, even dried turnips. Read more

Gown made from Peanut M&M wrappers

Project Runway eat your heart out, as long as that heart’s made from Peanut M&Ms. This one-off dress was made by Chicago-based couture designer Christina Liedtke from 600 Peanut M&M wrappers, from which the 1,800 flowers used in the design were painstakingly handmade and applied. Ok, so five yards of silk charmeuse and silk shantung were also used for the lining. But it’s pretty damn tasty all the same.

AussieBum’s banana fibre underwear

It’s crazy that we’re so reliant on cotton for our natural fibre needs, given that it’s environmentally heavy and requires massive amounts of water. Give me wool any-day. Or banana fibre, especially now that aussieBum have launched a new range of men’s underwear in this unique fabric. Banana fibre is made from the bark of the banana tree and possess wonderful properties for undies: it’s soft, smooth and comfortable. In fact, it feels just like cotton. But it’s much better for the world.

New York’s offshore windfarm?

While the green industry and most of the world were looking to Copenhagen for inspiration, New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg was in a helicopter, overlooking Denmark’s offshore windfarm, Horns Rev 2, the largest of its kind in the world to date. Bloomberg has his own offshore windfarm energy project already in motion, and with the Long Island wind project estimated to be operating at 700 megawatts, Horns Rev 2 (operating at 209 megawatts) will be easily replaced as the largest offshore windfarm. Read more

Beautiful Earth Group solar powered vehicle stations

Beautiful Earth Group, a New York-based sustainable energy company, has finally made solar powered electric vehicle stations bi-costal. Red Hook, Brooklyn, is home to the first of these powering stations, just a stone’s throw from Beautiful Earth’s offices in downtown Manhattan. The stations is completely modular and off-grid, and is comprised of shipping containers that have been recycled specifically for this purpose. Read more

World’s largest solar energy building

In Dezhou, located deep in the Shangdong Province in Northwest China, lies a 75,000 square meter structure in the shape of a fan. The building, which houses a hotel, science research facilities, meeting and training facilities, and exhibition centers, is solely powered by solar energy. The structure, which uses advanced wall and roof practices to achieve a 30% energy savings than the national standard. The building boasts the title of the ‘largest solar-powered building in the world’ and will be the main venue for the Fourth World Solar City Congress.