Ramesh

The name of this new umbrella is 'RAMESH'. It is an ancient Persian name and refers to someone who brings comfort and rest.

RAMESH has a simple structure. It consists of some solid parts and a canvas string, holds all parts together. Its function is very easy. When the string is pulled, tensile force brings all parts together, as near as possible, and makes a stable structure for holding a fabric over the head. There is no complicated mechanism with springs and metal arms.

Umbrella is a product of service, and durability is an important factor. For this reason, most parts of RAMESH are made of recyclable materials such as aluminum, polyethylene-HD, and recycled polyester (e.g . Eco-Intelligent® Polyester from Victor). Manufacturer should be responsible for establishing a take-back program in order to use old and discarded umbrellas' parts as technical nutrients.

Disassembly is another factor and RAMESH especially designed according to this. Cutting the string directly makes all parts separate. The canvas string and a small wooden part (connected to string to help pulling) are biodegradable. They might be made of trees, near or in the manufactory, and could be conceived as biological nutrient in the end of their lifetime.

Weight is important, both from recycling side and functionality side. Less weight means less material and less energy. All parts of RAMESH designed in order to be light weight and also strong. For example, the hexagonal-joint has thin walls, protected with ribs. Also the middle of booms is thinner than the ends, just for less material consumption.

Finally, wood-plastic composite could be considered as further step. Canvas strings and wooden part could be compost with HDPE and polyester in a closed loop for making solid parts. It may eliminate the effect of downcycling of plastics parts.

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