Pollinate Umbrella
The pollinate umbrella is an exploration of cradle to cradle design and the potential of creating mass-appeal in its principals: It re-claims material from the techno sphere: It is completely bio-degradable, produces no waste and feeds back into the ecosphere from which it came: It is cleanly and simply manufactured from local materials with widely available technologies: It applies style and fashion to c to c principals as a message to educate a mass audience.
The Ecosphere - The pollinate umbrella is constructed from completely biodegradable materials and feeds back into the ecosphere from which it came. Utilizing the strengths of natural materials; bamboo, hemp, beeswax, plant based dyes and wood from re-claimed pallets, pollinate can be safely disposed of at the end of it's life to pollinate the next generation.
The Techno sphere – The pollinate umbrella utilizes materials from the existing techno sphere. The arms of the umbrella are constructed from re-claimed pallet and crate wood, which many times degrade in contaminating garbage dumps. By re-claiming this material, the pollinate umbrella can facilitate the reintroduction of tons of wood back into the ecosphere.
The Human Factor – The pollinate umbrella is designed to fit easily into the human experience. Its simple construction, press fit wood joints and brush on beeswax sealer,
allows virtually anyone to repair or perform maintenance on it regardless of their mechanical skill. The material choices and manufacturing processes lend themselves to production on a world wide base, as they can be found or grown on any continent, reducing shipping pollution, promoting employment and clean industry. Because of its material usage and bio-degradability, disposal of the product or its parts is completely guilt free of the user.
The Appeal – The pollinate umbrella is styled to bring natural products to mainstream fashion. Naturally dyed graphics on a lightweight hemp canvas allow the canopy to follow style and appeal to the fashion conscious. The canopy can be replaced and updated by the user with a new one allowing it to adapt to changing fashion trends. The ability to customize also helps pollinate to be applicable to a different cultures and worldwide markets.
Pollinate
feed the future.
20060901-4995-5463
Comments
This is my favorite. It´s an extremely worked out design with few areas that I am worried about. It´s not only C2C in its biodegradability but it even uses recycled material in its creation (although not positive that pallet wood would work for this purpose). It´s a simple design that was created so it could be manufactured globally at small or large scale. And it can be repaired. And depending on the canopy, can be quite aesthetically appealing. Love the preloading of the ribs.
I would like to understand what happens to the canopy when the umbrella is folded up as it just doesn´t seem like it would fit inside the stem. I also wonder how heavy and awkward it might be in reality .
Overall, I think this is a great design and if the designer was to push it further, there might be a successful product here (assuming it works at scale). Well done!
Posted by: grahamhill![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://umbrella.treehugger.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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September 16, 2006 6:20 AM