1. Sustainability Problem: Climate Change (Carbon Intensity of Production) 

The apparel industry is one of the most unsustainable in the world, requiring heavy use of raw materials (water, land,etc.) and chemicals (dyes, coatings, finishes) , while also generating excessive waste because clothes are not made to be recycled. The production of polyester, a fabric made from petroleum/plastic, has increased almost sixfold from 1980 to 2007, and is incredibly carbon intensive.

 2. Solution

• Bolt Threads, a startup out of the University of California San Francisco, studied spiders to understand how they produce webs, and has essentially used bio-mimicry to develop a newer, more sustainable way of producing fabric.
• The main input is sugar from plants that are grown, harvested, and replanted. They have the same chemistry as silk from spiders/silkworms, but are man made
• They studied silk proteins found in nature, develop proteins inspired by the natural silks by putting genes into yeast, and then produce the proteins in large quantities through fermentation. Bolt then takes the silk proteins and spins it into fibers, and the fibers into fabrics and garments

 3. Stakeholders

• Bolt Threads
• Investors
• Manufacturer & procurement partners
• 3rd party fabric users

 4 .Implementation Steps

• Understand clothing pieces (i.e. athletic-wear, mens suits, etc?) that will be the most natural fit for this fabric
• Produce the garments, set up direct to consumer marketplace
• Partner with companies trying to be more sustainable who are interested in using fabric at a larger scale

Sources

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-03/a-bay-area-startup-spins-lab-grown-silk

https://boltthreads.com/technology/ 

JM4202

Comment on: World’s First 100% Compostable Water Bottle, Cap, & Label | This is a good innovation that can help the situation we are in. The bottle  technology has been around for a little while, the but company needed to develop the cap, as that was a roadblock for many industrial composters to start accepting the item.

As a frequent composter, I would like to know more about how the company expects to differentiate these bottles from others that are green – i.e Sprite, as to  not confuse those who are not careful about where they put their trash. Additionally, would be great to understand the ideal compost conditions for the 85 day compost time. If we start to get more and more ‘plastics’ and less organics in the compost, will that increase?

 

 

 

Sustainability Problem: (Ocean) Waste

More than 8M tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year, and some people estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. The world’s reliance on plastic does not seem to be shrinking, so this problem will continue to exists as about 50% of plastic is used just once and thrown away.

Summary of Technology

• The ‘Seabin” is essentially an in water garbage can, intended to gather floating debris polluting  marinas, yacht clubs, ports and any water body with a calm environment
• There is a small motor at the bottom of the bin that sucks the water in through the mesh, catching debris on the way; the 110/220V pump can be operated by ‘solar, wind, wave or turbine depending on the location, current technology and services available’
• It is estimated to ‘catch’ 1.5KG of debris per day, but can hold up to 12KG; additionally it can collect/absorb a small amount of oil from the water, which will increase as the technology improves.
• Seabin is available for about $4000, and is being implemented in Finland, the UK, and Spain

Stakeholders

• Seabin R&D, product development team
• Seabin sales, marketing, and business development team
• Vendors
• Potential customers/ buyers
• Investors (originally funded via IndieGoGo) 

Implementation Steps

• Continue business development, deploy and sell new Seabins product worldwide
• Fundraise for necessary capital
• Test more effective technology, and continue product development steps

Sources
https://www.plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
http://seabinproject.com/
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/11/seabin-portsmouth-harbour/

UNI – JM4202

 1. Sustainability Problem: Waste

Food waste makes up 20 to 30% of our waste, and leads to powerful greenhouse gas emissions when landfilled. Homeowners don’t compost for a variety of reasons – not knowing how, what to include, benefits of compost, and general lack of interest.

 2. Summary of Technology

• The “Compost Professor” aims to help homeowners out by providing insight into their compost detected by a combination of  sensors, artificial intelligence, and analytics
• The tool is made of three parts:
  • Compost Unit – a large tumbler where raw compost goes, usually placed outside. It has sensors which help it know when to take automatic, proactive actions such as increasing hydration or air flow
  • Base Unit -Analyses the data, communicates the information from the sensors to the cloud
  • Kitchen Handheld Unit – small device intended to be in a kitchen that tells the homeowner when to increase types of ingredients, change the batteries, etc.  It will also indicate when the compost is ready for use
• This tool will likely not convince people to start composting, but it will help people who are trying to compost get to an end product in a more effective way

https://www.hackster.io/darian-johnson/the-compost-professor-a-smart-composting-system-6a02f9

 3. Stakeholders

• Inventor, owner 
• Potential Users – nurseries, cities, homeowners, gardeners
• Potential retailes
• Manufacturer of all component parts

 4. Implementation Steps

• Define Target Market- this is a specific product with a niche market
• Develop sales and distribution plans with brick and mortar and online retailers
• Advertise, gather feedback, and iterate

JM4202

In response to: Ocean Cleanup

The fact that this system is constantly moving, or “drifting” helps the amount of matter that it can collect. In “fixed” or no moving barrier systems, the downward strength of the water after hitting the barrier is strong, and therefore pushes the matter underneath the barrier to the other side, not capturing it. It would be good to understand if they are planning to deploy a net that can capture microplastics, as there are billions of these in the oceans, and these nets can only capture particles larger than 1 cm. While not as visible as much of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, microplastics are becoming a large problem quickly.

 

 

 

 1. Sustainability Problem Area: Waste, Climate (Transportation Emissions)

 

Traditional retail models involve manufacturers producing goods in large quantities, shipping them across the world to retailer distribution hubs, who then must allocate them as accurately as possible to then stores or directly to consumers. Often this allocation is imperfect, causing excess inventory in the wrong places,  and therefore salvaged or discarded product, not to mention thousands of miles traveled by sea, rail, road, or air to reach a final destination.

 2. Summary of Technology 

• 3D, or three dimensional printing (also known as additive manufacturing)  has the potential to transform how consumers order and receive everyday products
• If 3D printers were available in convenient locations, consumers could purchase the 3D model of their desired object, and then go to the printer for immediate  “delivery” without the emissions from packaging or transportation
• 3D printers commonly use thermoplastics (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene -ABS, and polylactic acid-PLA), that are warmed to be molded, and then harden when cooled. PLA is derived from sugar, so can be made from corn. When someone is done with their item, it can be re-melted in another item once or twice.
• Makerbot is a company producing a 3D printer with design software.  It works by using FDM or (Fused Deposition Modeling) to precisely extrude hot plastic filament out of a glue gun type nozzle in specific shapes and layers, creating desired objects. The nozzle knows where to go based on a cartesian coordinate system, fed directions by the software

 3. Stakeholders

• Consumers
• Retailers, convenience stores
• 3D printing companies
  • Marketing, partnership teams
  • Product development and design teams
  • Software developers

 4. Deploying the Technology

• Build a catalog | To become mainstream, Makerbot would need to develop a catalog of helpful/common/ widely used items available to print from their machines. They could even partner with brands directly to develop 3D printable products that consumers could order and print on the spot, and even customize them
• Grow their footprint | Partner with convenience stores or established retailers to deploy a “RedBox” type availability/footprint, placing their machine somewhere with high foot traffic
• Get the word out | Advertise unique capabilities to consumers, potentially those in remote areas that have low access to retailers

Sources:

• https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/05/29/3d-printing-revolutionize-sustainable-design,  
• https://www.makerbot.com/learn/

UNI: JM4202

Comment on other post – Vertical Farming in Indonesia |  In the first year, farmers will be limited to easy-to-maintain crops, such as cabbage, spinach and tomatoes. After that, they can expand to other types of crops. Each farmer can earn an average of 3 million RP from a 6×6 meter square.