Spotted: Fossil-fuel-based ingredients are widely used in cosmetic products for several reasons. For example, they lock moisture into the skin, provide a protective barrier, and disperse fragrance ingredients. They are also used as fillers and texture enhancers. FineCell is working to eliminate fossil fuels from cosmetics with an entirely bio-based cellulose that can do everything fossil-fuel-derived ingredients can do, and more. The company is a spinout of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, where initial research to develop the product was conducted.
FineCell’s CellOx dry cellulose powder is made by turning plant pulp into a biomaterial that can be used both as a powder and as a hydrogel. CellOx is produced by combining natural cellulose with oxalic acid, a natural chemical found in plants like rhubarb.
The new material is completely bio-based, lightweight, and requires 80–90 per cent less energy to manufacture compared to similar cellulose products. CellOx can be easily combined with other ingredients, making it an excellent binding agent for products such as sunscreens, skin creams, and even paints. It’s also transparent, making it suitable for a large number of applications.
The company has recently announced a €1 million seed investment led by Metsä Group. The funding will be used to improve R&D, engage with potential customers, and finalise plans for a demonstration production facility. The company aims to have the design of its demo plant ready for investment decision by the end of 2024 and larger-scale test production underway in 2025, with full commercial production commencing in 2027.
Beauty is a huge industry, and Springwise has spotted a number of innovations aimed at improving the sustainability of cosmetic products. These range from the use of forest by-products as ingredients to a process that uses fermentation to turn food waste into a sustainable palm oil substitute.
Spotted: While coral reefs cover just 0.2 per cent of the seafloor, they support around 25 per cent of marine species and underpin the safety, coastal protection, well-being, and food and economic security of hundreds of millions of people. They are also disappearing at a rapid rate. Since 2009, around 14 per cent of the world’s corals have disappeared, and the pace is speeding up.
To support coral restoration, CHARM (Coral Husbandry Automated Raceway Machine) has created an aquaculture robot that cleans, feeds, and monitors coral grown in an industrial aquarium. The idea is to grow the coral in a controlled environment and then place it in the wild to help restore reefs. The system uses a robotic arm connected to artificial intelligence (AI) software to monitor, clean, and feed the coral.
The company has also developed a product, called Coral Charm, that helps connect individuals to the coral. When a customer buys a Coral Charm, their name and an image are engraved onto two identical coral plugs (a small, stationary platform that the coral is fixed to). One plug has a coral placed on it and grows inside the CHARM aquarium. The other plug is sent to the customer, along with a QR code.
The QR code sends Coral Charm owners to a dedicated page where they can view the growth of the coral and includes a button they can press to feed it. When the coral is moved to the ocean, users receive the GPS coordinates of the location.
The concern over the state of the world’s coral has prompted a number of recent innovations, including the use of turmeric to protect the reefs and customer-built clay reefs.
Spotted: The global refurbished and used mobile phone market is expected to grow from more than $50 billion (around €47 billion) in 2022 to around $172 billion (around €161 billion) by 2033. And advocates of electronics recycling see an encouraging uptick in consumer demand for refurbished devices.
As a means of making the most of all the valuable materials found in devices that range from smartwatches and tablets to video game consoles and audio products, digital resale platform Valyuu connects buyers and sellers with its reliable second-hand electronics marketplace. Valyuu provides buyers with a reliable evaluation of products that includes photos and access to full test reports.
Sellers have multiple options on the platform. They can sell their device for an immediate payment through Fast Pay or wait a bit longer to receive a Best Value payment. Valyuu covers all shipping costs, and if a seller chooses to donate their device to the company, Valyuu donates the value of the sale to a social inclusion and education charity.
With data sensitivity a major barrier to large scale electronics recycling, Valyuu provides sellers with detailed instructions on how to wipe clean their devices. And once the company receives an item, its team of IT experts re-wipes the product for further data protection.
If a device needs something fixed, the Valyuu team of refurbishers makes it usable again. And if a device is no longer usable, Valyuu’s team of recyclers takes it apart for sustainable reuse and recycling.
The Netherlands-based company operates throughout the Benelux countries of The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany and plans to continue expanding the availability of its services internationally. Having recently closed a round of seed funding that raised €2.4 million, the company plans to further expand the range of products available on its platform, further its research and development (R&D), and make its service available in more locations.
As well as electronics, refurbishment is being used by a multitude of industries as a means of reducing waste while expanding the lifespan of goods. In Springwise’s library, innovations include a subscription service for office furniture and virtual trunk shows of used luxury items.
Spotted: Biotechnology has been rapidly gaining momentum in recent years, with manufacturers increasingly turning to the natural world both for its unique qualities and sustainability. One of those manufacturers is Swedish Algae Factory, which uses diatoms – a type of unicellular microscopic algae – to produce its new advanced materials.
The company’s first products are a skin cleanser called Algica and a protective coating for photovoltaic (PV) panels. The products are manufactured via a sustainable, circular process that uses wastewater from other local businesses as an energy source, with the cleaned water is returned to its partner organisations for reuse. According to the company, producing one kilogramme of Algica helps clean the atmosphere of at least eight kilogrammes of carbon dioxide and one kilogramme of nitrogen.
The shells of algae diatoms contain silicon dioxide and are extremely efficient at absorbing light and carbon dioxide. By replacing some of the chemicals traditionally used in skincare products, Algica not only reduces the carbon emissions of production, it also makes the products themselves healthier and more effective. In a controlled, double-blind study, external assessors found Algica’s moisturising capability to be the same as hyaluronic acid.
Because the algae grow in salt as well as wastewater, production processes are accessible to communities without a consistent supply of clean water. By eliminating the need for potable water to grow algae, areas can more easily and quickly engage with new opportunities for economic growth, particularly as Swedish Algae Factory continues to explore additional and improved uses of the plant.
A recipient of an EU LIFE grant, Swedish Algae Factory also has a project called Life Sunalgae for large-scale industrial production of an algae-based silicon film that blocks UV light. When applied to PV panels, the film slows the degradation of materials while increasing the solar cells’ efficiency in converting light into power.
Springwise has spotted the versatility of algae being used in a range of innovations in the archive, including in limestone and to power a microprocessor.
Nobody likes knocking elbows while brushing their teeth. In this lookbook, we collect 10 bathrooms with interesting takes on double sinks from the Dezeen archive.
Sometimes called his-and-hers sinks, double sinks immediately introduce a luxurious feel to the bathroom. The 10 examples below feature varying contemporary interpretations of this classic design flourish.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with colourful toilets and sinks, timber cladding and lots of concrete.
Photo by Megan Taylor
Louisville Road apartment, UK, by 2LG Studio
London design firm 2LG Studio fitted a bespoke coral-orange vanity unit with luted-lacquer-coated doors to form the double sink in this house in Tooting.
The unit contrasts with baby-blue taps that match the floor tiles and the bordering around the large bathroom mirror, as well as the shower screen.
Find out more about this Louisville Road apartment ›
Photo by Mel Yates/24mm Photography
House in York, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
A utilitarian theme pervades Studio Ben Allen’s extension to a Victorian terraced house in York, including in the first-floor bathroom.
Twin basins feature taps stripped back to their base brass and exposed copper piping, while the two curving mirrors above them continue an arch motif used throughout the project.
Find out more about this house in York ›
Photo by Jeremie Warshafsky
Candy Loft, Canada, by StudioAC
The double sink in this Toronto loft conversion by local firm StudioAC is housed inside a wood-clad unit that is fixed to the wall and lit from underneath.
It features in a minimalist bathroom with borderless shower screen and mirrors, white walls and subtly patterned tiling.
Find out more about Candy Loft ›
Photo by Alex Forsey Photography
The Triangle extension, UK, by Yellow Cloud Studio
A free-standing bathtub separates two sinks in the en-suite bathroom of this Victorian house in Hackney, extended and renovated by London practice Yellow Cloud Studio.
The bath fits into what was formerly a fireplace, with the original chimney stack providing a symmetrical layout for the concrete basins and pastel-green vanity units.
Find out more about the Triangle extension ›
Photo by Youri Claesens
Casa Campo, Ibiza, Spain, by Standard Studio
Casa Campo is an off-grid home nestled in a mountain range in northern Ibiza by Amsterdam firm Standard Studio.
In the bathroom, a concrete partition forms a low wall around the double sink, contrasting with the rustic stone walling and timber counter.
Find out more about Casa Campo ›
Photo by Felipe Fontecilla
Casa Hualle, Chile, by Ampuero Yutronic
Pale plywood walls and a dark concrete floor give the bathroom in this house in Chile’s volcanic Araucania Region a rustic feel.
Architecture studio Ampuero Yutronic raised a pair of circular sinks on a simple wooden stand in line with a window above the bathtub.
Find out more about Casa Hualle ›
Photo by Evan Joseph
130 William show apartment, USA, by David Adjaye
British architect David Adjaye used serrated grey marble tiling to line the walls and floors of the bathroom in this model apartment for his first Manhattan skyscraper.
This extends to the bathtub and double sink, contrasted with black tap fixtures and a black wooden vanity unit.
Find out more about this 130 William show apartment ›
Photo by Matthew Williams
Workstead House, USA, by Workstead
This home in Charleston, South Carolina was created through the renovation of a building formerly used as a store for selling blockaded goods during the US Civil War.
In the darkly painted en-suite bathroom next to the master bedroom, design studio Workstead built a pair of sink units standing independently of each other and looking out through large double-sash windows.
Find out more about Workstead House ›
Photo by Pedro Kok
AML Apartment, Brazil, by David Ito Arquitetura
David Ito Arquitetura put a different spin on the double sink inside this apartment in São Paulo.
The two vanity units face each other from opposite walls, their wooden cupboards contrasting with the black fittings and floor tiles and the white wall tiles and marble in the sinks and the two-person bathtub.
Find out more about AML Apartment ›
Photo courtesy of Vora
Vallirana 47 apartments, Spain, by Vora
A more modest approach to the double sink is on display in these Barcelona apartments designed by Architecture studio Vora.
The pale marble sink is divided into two basins, sharing the same white vanity unit and grey marble counter.
Find out more about these Vallirana 47 apartments ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bathrooms with colourful toilets and sinks, timber cladding and lots of concrete.
