Green Design Materials

For designers, it’s important that our creations be as environmentally friendly as possible. The days of printing and design as being “anti-environment” are slowly waning, what with all the recycled materials and veggie-based inks being used in catalog printing, brochure printing and other marketing materials.

Design materials are more eco-friendly than ever. Everything from household paint to glue can be made non-toxic. And to help the cause, here are some highlights of green design materials you may not even be aware of.

ECOGLUE

Ecoglue is a non-toxic, water-based adhesive that can stick onto many substances, including wood, metal, tile, stone and glass. It contains less than 1% VOCs and its package is 100% recyclable. The glue’s flexible nature makes it ideal for fabrics.

TENCEL

TENCEL is a new fiber made from wood pulp cellulose, and is “soft as silk, strong as polyester, cool as linen, warm as wool and as absorbent as cotton.” TENCEL is Lenzing Fibers’ brand name for lyocell. The solvent used in the production process is up to 99.5% recovered and the emissions are decomposed in adapted biological purification plants. Nanofibrils (shown in the picture) is the key to the new fiber’s technology and functional properties.

Kenaf Paper

Kenaf is a plant related to cotton and okra, and has been cultivated for 4,000 years. It originated in Africa, but it grows well in many parts of the United States. Kenaf grows quickly, up to almost 15 feet in as little as 4 to 5 months. This is a great alternative to make paper without cutting trees.  

Coffee Paper 

“Organic coffee papers are made from combining tree free agricultural bio-products coupled with 100% post consumer content to create a beautiful paper that is laser printer compatible.” This paper is mostly used as stationery and contains 10% coffee fiber and 100% post-consumer recycled content. “The ripe coffee beans have a thin peel, jelly like flesh, a cover, and a silver like peel around the bean, all of this has to be removed before the beans are sent to the market.” These waste materials are combined with post-consumer paper to make coffee paper.