Eco-friendly products drive a market that produces some of the most incredible planet-saving innovations.

By Seth Ellison

With more consumers wanting products that offer a green nod to nature, companies are waking up to this shifting consumer landscape. Whether you’re looking to illuminate your home with some fashionable fungus or grow some new wheatgrass root clothing for a night out on the town, here are five eco-friendly products and soon-to-be products that will surprise — and might change the world as we know it.

1. Bamboo Washing Machine

With all of the hyper-futuristic sustainable products available out there, it’s refreshing to see an appliance that’s this low-tech generating a buzz, and it’s not hard to see why with its clever design. Created by design students at Dalian Minzu University in China and winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award, the Bamboo Washing Machine is, like the name implies, made entirely from bamboo wood — but instead of plugging into an electrical outlet, it runs on water power alone. Merely insert the appliance into a shallow riverbed and wait for the river currents to turn the machine’s drum and wash away dirt. The entire product is biodegradable, and because it’s powered by nature and washes clothes efficiently without the need for extra water cycles, there is zero wastage and emissions. 

2. B-Wise Lamp

The brand Mycleen unveiled B-Wise, a pendant lamp measuring an impressive almost 24 inches in diameter, at Dutch Design Week. This aesthetically grungy lampshade is made from the part of a fungus that grows underground or sometimes thrives in other places like rotting tree trunks. To make this unique creation, designers fill an empty mold with mycelium, along with organic waste, and in a couple of weeks, it grows into the predetermined shape — after which it’s de-molded, dehydrated and ready to hit the shelves and become your ultimate conversation piece.

3. Rootfull

Did you know that the fashion industry produces 10 percent of all humanity’s carbon emissions, not to mention a massive amount of pollution? This inspired designer Zena Holloway to ask the question, “What if we could grow our clothes from a seed?” She presented her answer at the 2022 London Design Festival in the form of a serpentine collection of products and wearable attire made completely from wheatgrass roots called ‘Rootfull.’ This collection explores the circular possibilities of fashion, as the clothes can be grown in just 12 days using only a small amount of water, wheatgrass seed and reusable wax templates — making them easily compostable after being discarded. And the possibilities don’t end there, as the Rootfull collection also includes coral-inspired sculptures, decorative wall hangings and root-grown lamps.  

4. 3D-Printed Pavilions

The design and creation of the 3D-printed pavilions were initiated by the international architecture studio Hassell, the creative collective to.org and the 3D printing studio Nagami to encourage conversations about material waste and how technology can solve our planet’s most urgent problems. Inspired by indigenous shelters, the 3D-printed pavilions are composed entirely of recycled plastic, creating a new way of viewing the material in terms of construction. The pavilion can be customized and modified to adjust to a whole range of different climates and settings and operates fully off the grid. 

5. Solar Glass

Researchers at the University of Michigan are currently working on a sustainable engineering project that uses a new kind of glass to capture and store solar energy — and this glass can even gather solar energy, unlike regular solar panels, even if it isn’t receiving solar heat. Given that five to seven billion square meters of usable window space exist, enough to power 40 percent of U.S. energy needs, this technology could radically change how we provide energy to our homes, commercial buildings, automobiles and so much more. Ultimately, this technology could revolutionize our economy by offering inexpensive and renewable energy that moves us further away from fossil fuel dependence.