During the lockdown, Yuki Murakami realized how much waste he produced every day; which made the student at Nagoya College of the Arts, Japan, decide to stop this everyday use of plastic products. He further made up his mind to convert the already existing or daily trash into stylish upcycled merchandise. Now, this Nagoya student designer turns various domestic waste items into stylish everyday products.
His one noteworthy creation is the “banana leather-based” material, which consists of banana skins mixed with pure rubber. This new material is great to use as a fabric for everyday clothing.
Besides that, he turned 300 g of coffee grounds to make a sustainable lampshade that retails for 19,800 Yen (approx. $154). The lampshade and even a few planters consist of coffee grounds that form “cafe-au-lait base” material. This new material further leads to the formation of new functional objects. To bind the mixture together, the designer used an adhesive created from milk kept for disposal.
Image: Asahi
While searching for a fabric that goes well with espresso, which Murakami consumes every day, he came across the extra milk that would generally go to waste due to pandemic-driven institutional closure. That’s when he combined espresso grounds with milk and created a cafe-au-lait base. This new material retains its grainy texture even in the final objects.
Murakami is still working on the sturdiness of the fabric. He mentions that he’s hopeful to make a durable fabric for desks, chairs, and other items sooner or later. However, with his present creations, the designer hopes to make clients feel the need to buy eco-friendly objects.
Image: Asahi
At Nagoya College of the Arts, there’s now a dedicated venue to support creators aiming to make more upcycled products. On-Co, an enterprise that fixes neighborhood issues, is taking care of the venue in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture.
Together On-Co and Murakami have also come up with the formation of the “Resecco,” a brand new material created from disused plasterboards. Resecco, which is named after “sekko” (Japanese word for plaster), appears like a synthetic marble in texture. Hence, it could function as a durable industrial product for construction.
Image: Asahi
Furthermore, On-Co plans to organize one more base for creators to meet and work more on such inventions. After all, the company believes in making the most of the waste discharged by various communities and industries.
With such increasing events on upcycling in Japan, there is a solid hope for a more sustainable and greener tomorrow. What do you think of this unique initiative? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Image: Asahi
Via: Asahi