When you think of colorful casual fun watches you think of the original Swatch.  Luxury items do not have to come with a large price tag. Swatch is the most popular watch in the world and has an important place in the fashion industry  They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors and some are designed by well known artists. Dr Ernst Thomke and his team of engineers worked on a design with far less components in 1983.  This resulted in the thinnest watch which did not have a crystal. Eliminating that component was critical because the watch industry was struggling with the ..read more

In 2018 Mexico City was named the Design Capital of the World.  So it is fitting that a Alejandro Curi Chavez, an innovative designer, is using old tires and other plastics to build environmentally  friendly stylish playgrounds under his brand Gumi. Unlike most playgrounds around the world that have concrete flooring his provide cushioned landing for children making them safe aesthetically pleasing.  The colorful tiles are also waterproof to resist the elements and can be wiped clean. Shredded tires are used to create the bottom layer of the tiles and the coating is created from ..read more

The invention of bubble wrap in 1957 was actually accidental.  Alfred Fielding and his business partner Mar Chavannes, a Swiss chemist, were trying to invent textured wallpaper by putting two shower curtains together which created a sheet with trapped air bubbles.  They were given a patent for this process and thought of 400 uses most of which were not very successful. Six patents in all allowed their creative ideas to be fully developed. The wallpaper did not appeal to this generation as they had hoped and the use for a greenhouses for insulation was not a success The breakthrough c ..read more

As global warming continues researches at Columbia University have developed a solution to cool buildings without harming the environment and using more electricity with air conditioning.  Traditionally white paint has been used but that reflects heat back into the atmosphere and only reduces the heat by 85% while absorbing the rest of the heat. This new product is a polymer and water liquid that is painted on any surface.   When it dries it creates a foam or material similar to air gaps in flakes of snow. This eco friendly concept is known as passive daytime reflective cooling ..read more

A plastic’s group recently helped out the community.  IPEG’s Conair Groups Vice President, Brian Dowler, heard about a charitable group from Zelienople PA Church of Christ.  They were making turtle lap pads and blankets for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, There was 1200 pounds of leftover pellets that the company from their lab in Cranberry, PA that they were able to donate and put to great use in this Church project.  This gift was greatly appreciated saving them $1800 as purchasing the filler was prohibitive at $1.50 per pound. These lap pads and blankets are filled wi ..read more

Dow Chemical Company awarded Garcon Wines flat bottle the Diamond Finalist Award for their innovative packaging.   The bottle was originally designed to solve the problem of wine bottles not being able to fit in the mail slots in the United Kingdom.  The flat bottles not only solve this problem, but solves many other issues. According to Dow Chemical’s website, “Using 100 percent post-consumer recycled PET instead of glass significantly reduces shipping weight and cost, eliminates potential breakage in transit and offers a more eco-friendly packaging material solution than regular pl ..read more

The world’s largest bridge was built this year in Shanghai.  Designed by Professor Xu Weiguo, who teaches at the Tsinghua University Zoina Land Joint Research Center for Digital Architecture after the ancient Anji Bridge in Zhaoxian, China. The bridge is a single arch pedestrian bridge 86 feet long and 12 feet wide.  Professor Weiguo’s team combined digital design, cost efficiency, smart technology, and architectural dynamism.  The handrails are shaped like flowing ribbons. The way the bridge is constructed is from 44 hollow concrete units, and the handrails are divided into 68 ..read more

Sous vide is a French method of cooking.  Sous vide means “under vacuum”, and that’s exactly the way this cooking method works.  Food is vacuumed sealed inside a plastic bag, then cooked in a water bath at a very particular temperature.   With sous vide cooking, you are in control of the temperature of your food.  You are unable to control the temperature with other methods of cooking, which can leave food dry, undercooked, or cooked unevenly.  You can count on the consistency of your food every time with sous vide. Sous vide allows for your food to cook in its natural ..read more

Plastic packaging is getting a bad rap lately about being bad for the environment, so an Italian firm is working on a bioplastic made from fruit waste. Bio-on is an Italian bioplastics company who is teaming up with an agricultural firm called Gruppo Rivoira to produce Zeropack, a packaging solution for fruits and vegetables.  Zeropack uses waste from fruits and vegetables to make a bioplastic that is good for the environment. “The aim [of Zeropack] is to allow all distributors to serve customers with sustainable and environmental friendly products,” says the group. Zeropack will be compl ..read more

Large boats stranded at sea can be a big problem, and an even bigger problem to tow them back to shore.  It can cost thousands of dollars to help a ship back to land, and the additional fuel used to tow the ships can negatively impact the environment.   The idea of using a kitesurf kite to tow boats back to shore was thought of by Yves Parlier, a sailor who was dismasted in his third appearance in the Vendee Globe sailing competition in 2000.  He completed the race six weeks after the other competitors. Using a kite would have been a much better way for him to travel considering ..read more