Posts Tagged ‘Sustainability’
Please dont stop the.. dancing!
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
With its powerful sound-system, its numerous lights, its heating and cooling system, a nightclub is an energy glutton. Trying to address this issue, the first eco-club of the world opened last September in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Club Watt saves 30% electricity costs by re-injecting into the main circuit the energy produced by its customers shaking their bodies on the dance floor. The trick? A spring-loaded floor, which dips about 1 cm and activates a flywheel, which starts to capture kinetic energy convert it to electricity, similar to the electro-mechanical process of a bicycle light.
There is a lot of research done on energy saving, but it leaves a wide field open to innovators, imagining revolutionary appliances for old and new technologies. When I heard about this floor transforming movement into energy, I tried to imagine other places or things that we use, where energy is lost, that could be collected instead. What about a computer that would re-load it’s battery when typing on the keyboard?
An average person types between 30-50 words per minute. Considering that the average word is 4 to 6 letters long – say 5, typing on a computer equals pushing down a button 150 to 250 times per minute. Wouldn’t that produce enough energy to power a notebook, or at least increase its battery life? Plus it would have a wonderful effect on our productivity: imagine you’re 5 hours in the plane without a power plug. Should you rather watch a 2 hour movie, or frenetically type this report you should have done weeks ago, which would keep your battery going for the whole journey?
What are some other ways we can apply this technology?
High traffic areas maybe? i.e. airports, metro stations, concerts…
Looking forward to reading your brilliant applications in the comments 
Written by: Antoine Verdon
Websites for Change
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
The inspiration: The “Free Rice” website is both an educational tool and a way to help end world hunger. The website is sponsored by advertisements and the concept is easy; you’re given a word and need to find the synonym. For each answer you get correct, 20 grains of rice are donated to end hunger. There is also a digital bowl that gets filled with rice so you can see the impact you are making.
The idea: I discovered this website when conducting research for Wokai and started thinking. Imagine if there were more educational websites that also have a social benefit. Rather than browsing entertainment gossip or playing online games, everyone could achieve great benefits. For instance, there could be an SAT review website that provides sample questions and for each answer you get right, an ounce of water could be donated to children. That way, you answer eight correct questions and provide a child a cup of clean water. Review companies such as Kaplan and Princeton Review and colleges and universities would pay to advertise on this website because they could easily reach their target market.
HOLSTEE: Product Launch!
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
Ok, I know what your thinking no posts in a while…Incubaker must be slowing down…but its just the opposite! Things are really heating up as we prepare for our launch of Holstee!
Holstee is a line of eco-friendly and socially conscious shirts. The whole concept began a few months ago with the idea of adding a pocket to a shirt. Since then Incubaker’s growing interest in sustainable business practices that consider all stakeholders has reshaped Holstee’s operating processes to a model for a sustainability. While non-profit organizations play a critical role in improving global conditions, at Incubaker we are blown-away by for-profit companies that are able to drive innovation while increasing their ‘Triple Bottom Line” (People, Planet, Profit) (Perfect example = Lifestraw.) Inspired by Lifestraw and similar companies, we took our shirt design and drove it further. Finding the softest fabrics that used recycled materials for our shirts. We have also decided to cycle 100% of our proceeds to impoverished entrepreneurs through Kiva.org empowering them to improve the lives of their family and community.
From idea to production to product in a few months is a feat Incubaker is very proud of. The process has been a roller coaster ride for me, and the people who helped organize. Most importantly I was able to gain insight into a business process and industry background on a field I previously knew nothing about; fashion. I became a regular around the fabric shops of downtown Los Angeles and a few showrooms, getting ideas and building relationships. I learned of the manufacturing process by touring a hand full of factories (who knew that American Apparel has Masseuses on site as well as full health facility for their employees!). Overall, managing the Holstee project thus far has been an awesomely rewarding experience, (and in the words of Sinatra) I am sure that “the best is yet to come” .
While the site is still in development, you can pre-order a shirt, or ‘Join the Project’ on www.holstee.com.
If you are in the NY area we are looking for models for our photo shoot next weekend – sign up online!
Also special thanks to everyone who made Holstee possible: Thierry Blancpain, Michael Radparvar, Melissa Sconyers, My family and friends for their support & feedback (No product launch is complete without a ‘Thanks Mom!’ but really…thanks Roohi!) and of course, my Incubaker family.
