Dedicated to inspiring designers, inventors & the creative spirit in all of us.

Going back to school means a lot of people buying a whole lot of new things. Teachers, students, parents; we are all consumers. With so many designs keeping the environment in mind during planning and manufacture, it would be nice to see a few students sporting green with their back to school gear. Here are a few products to get you started.

Newton running shoes are more than just green. The shoes laces, webbing, insole top and outer sole rubber are made of recycled materials. And there is more; the package is made of the same post-consumer paper waste as egg cartons. And to get greener than green, the shoe is stuffed with a pair of new socks and a reusable bag to avoid useless tissue paper that would normally get tossed after opening.

Every new school year sees last year’s trends moved aside for the hottest new items. Well, try going green with this 100% recycled material backpack. The cost of the backpack even includes a donation to American Rainforests, so chances are you will be helping to add a tree or two for your money well spent.

Radiohead, noted to be one of the greenest bands out there has extended its line of apparel to raincoats. The nice thing about their designer coat (other than it is made for Radiohead) is that it took 15 recycled PETG bottles to create it. Look cool, feel cool and be cool with this post-consumer jacket this fall.

And speaking of rainy fall weather, if campus life has you traveling by foot from class to class, be sure to pack an umbrella. This umbrella has a canopy made of 100% recycled PETG bottles with a frame made of 70% recycled steel, aluminum and ABS plastics. 

Pack up your pencils, pens and markers into this recycled supply pouch and feel good knowing that the world has one less tire in its landfills. And while you’re at it, stuff in the ruler made of, “read it together class: three plastic cups.”

Who goes to school without a notebook. If you are going to have to take notes, you might as well write onto something worth writing on. This recycled material notebook will have you daydreaming and doodling in no time, thanks to recycled juice cartons and plastic boxes.

Highlighters are a must for most note-takers and young scholars. Why not go green when you go yellow by using these Zebra-Eco highlighters made from 74% post-consumer waste. Go ahead, stuff it in that pouch you just read about.

Packing your lunch is a must for some students, by choice or necessity. Do it in style with this second-life juice pouch bag. This ECOutlet bag is made from materials once known as trash, but now known as green.

I would have to say the biggest complaint about going green, is all the green you spend in doing so. Although it can be costly to buy environmentally responsible products, sometimes I think it is worth it to do so, as with this computer. With an 80% smaller size, using 70% less energy and 75% less printed paperwork to go with it, this Dell desktop computer is definitely getting greener. You can even recycle 95% of the product after it becomes obsolete.

I can’t think of a better way to remind yourself to take off your shoes at the door than to have your slippers waiting for you when you get there. This slipper mat is a smart design, for sure.

I saw this collapsing door design a while back, but thought it was still worth sharing. Pay attention to the final seconds of the video, as the narrator talks about driving into the 21st Century with these hide-away doors. Every time I see this design I wonder why it never made it to a major automobile market.

These bathroom tiles are a wonderful way to marry form and function. A pull-out drawer and a towel hook built into the tile is a simple, clever and ingenious use of space. Hideaway spaces always seem to work well in smaller areas like the kitchen and bathroom.

Here is a clever way to store small valuables, but a bad way to transfer electricity. Touted as a great way to fool maids and snoopy visitors, this surge protector vault is lightweight, visually authentic and even has an LED that glows red to fool the eye. Spy gear designs are always cool finds.

I came across one of these ceramic coffee cups over the weekend while shopping with my family, and was completely tricked into believing it was a throw-away cup. Once opened, it even reveals a silicone sleeve, just like the cardboard ones that all of the fancy coffee shops wrap around your paper cup. The double-walled cup maintains the temperature of your beverage longer than any throw-away cup, however, and it doesn’t attract the awe of onlookers like other reusable cups and mugs that scream, “Hey, I am trying to save the world here, one cup at a time!”

This may look like an electronics device, but it definitely isn’t. It is a wallet that secures your personal items from being compromised electronically. RFID theft, or radio frequency identity theft, can happen without you even knowing. This clamshell of a storage space blocks any person who may try to grab your information from the Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards in your purse or pocket. Now you can forget about hackers in crowds electronically taking what is your’s.

Memo block for those times you want to avoid memory block. A log of sticky backed notepad paper is a clever desktop product design.

Check out these skylines created using natural light to generate silhouettes through windows. Natural sunlight streams through these perforated skyline blinds, which depict the famous skylines of Tokyo, Paris, Stockholm and Helsinki. Sunsets will never look the same through one of these.

Shoes can be as simple or as complex as a designer’s imagination. Here are 10 unique ways to cover your feet that stand out from the rest.

These Fivefingers are a great way to wear shoes but still have bare feet. Made to wrap around each one of your little piggies, the shoes are made to fit over your feet like a pair of gloves.

These Mion’s have an anatomically shaped foot bed with a layer of foam that customizes to the shape of the wearer’s foot after 12 hours of use, resulting in a personalized fit. Not only do they conform to the user’s feet, but the lacing shoe strings wrap around the entire foot, making 360 degrees of snugness.

Umbrella shoes are the next best thing, right? These high-heeled shoes offer cover for your toes as you walk through light rain showers with class. Unique may be the only word to describe these feet pampering pumps.

Made of 100% recycled material, these lightweight Frisky shoes are made to be breathable as well as mold to the shape of your foot. The hoofed, closed toe design is a feature I have not seen before. It’s like a space-age flip-flop.

Not only do these kid’s shoes come in a variety of standard Kool-Aid colors, they smell like Kool-Aid too. These Kool-Aid kicks are a new twist on shoe design, with a scratch and sniff feature. Yeah, don’t read it twice, these shoes actually are infused with the fragrance of cherry, grape or pink lemonade.

Dada Speaker Shoes are a bit extreme, but who would deny wanting to wear a pair. Made to play music from your MP3 device, these sneakers have built-in speakers for broadcasting whatever sounds you like. I’m thinking either the Harlem Globetrotters tune while you shoot hoops, or maybe Mr. Roboto.

Giraffe high heeled shoes might be the only way to stroll around the zoo with class. Definitely a unique design in the world of shoes, I can truly say I have never seen high-heeled shoes with two legs before.

These cardboard Air Jordans are made from, you guessed it, cardboard.  What more is there to say?

These felt slippers are made to keep your feet nice and toasty, and they do it very well. I have a had a pair of these slippers for a few years now (a gift from my brother’s overseas travels) and can attest to how simple and comfortable they are. They will make your feet sweat on a cold January morning.