Why is it so hard to make clean, safe products? The answer may surprise you. We all know supply chains are complicated, unique to each manufacturer and brand, and sprawled across the globe. Standards vary, and regulations can be a mosaic of rules and exceptions. But we often discredit the very real challenge of supplier engagement.  This tricky dance around disclosure, reporting fatigue and proprietary ingredients can silence the most responsive of suppliers, and derail the most aggressive product transparency effort overnight.

Consumers and forward-thinking brands are increasingly demanding cleaner, less harmful products and materials. Until now, supply chains and chemical hazards have been notoriously difficult to manage – and communicating to consumers and buyers has suffered. This process has seen some progress, but there still is a system that too often loses sight of its higher purpose to clean up supply chains and products. 

Luckily there are some inspiring solutions available today designed to untangle product transparency.

Enter technology. The disclosure of ingredient and chemical hazard information has become a critical factor, sometimes even a requirement, for the specification and procurement of many leading products.

Supplier engagement is surprisingly fixable with software solutions that benefit both the supplier and the manufacturer.

Technology has the ability to solve for issues like redundancy of requests, proprietary substance protections, and submission to standards with tools like workflow automation, secure cloud services, comprehensive regulatory and hazard screening, and API integration.  If it is packaged in an intuitive, affordable interface, that increases engagement. And when it is recognized by industry partners and influencers, we have the start of a revolution in our supply chains.

Toxnot’s Public Materials: Helping Suppliers Buy In

The advent of powerful new software platforms like Toxnot that simplify supplier engagement around chemicals, and the significant expansion of 3rd party verifications, like Declare Labels, are disrupting the way we manage chemical hazards in our products – making it easier to analyze and clean up the world’s supply chains.

Software platforms like Toxnot work from both the supplier and disclosure side of the equation. Suppliers can upload their ingredients into the Toxnot platform for free with a simple login.  This feeds into a searchable, secure cloud service for anyone looking to use these ingredients and materials in their own products – saving time, most importantly reducing the need to re-enter material data elsewhere.   

Eliminating repeated emails to different suppliers – a significant benefit in and of itself – helps with data integrity and   supplier relationships.

From here, product developers can collect complex data on the ingredients in their products, even if they are proprietary.  They can explore alternative, potentially safer chemicals securely and screen against particularly hazardous compounds, see if materials are Red List free and so on.

Most importantly, Toxnot lets manufacturers automatically submit their product data directly to multiple standards like Declare, Red2Green, HPDs, C2C and GIGA Origin/Mindful Materials in a single click. 

From here, a searchable, dynamic database grows. With proprietary protections available, this database becomes a powerful opportunity for marketing, visibility, and measurable growth in the green building space – from supplier, through designer, to reporting and transparency.  Nuances in IP protections let users customize the visibility of sensitive data like chemical name or registry number, while allowing those receiving proprietary information to still see GreenScreen List Translator scores and RSL data.

Toxnot and the LP50

Some of the world’s biggest, most influential building owners & builders have committed to creating buildings with positive human & environmental benefits. Coupled with the growth of green building standards like LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge, suppliers now face increased demand for multiple material ingredient reports.

In response to a call to action from these architects, more than 40 of the world’s leading building product manufacturers have signed a letter intended to create an industry full of safe and responsibly-manufactured products.

This group of product manufactures, the LP50, recognizes the need to engage their own suppliers. They started a conversation with their own supply chains on furthering the creation of safe and transparently disclosed products and materials.

The LP50 are working with Toxnot’s supplier engagement platform and HPDC’s HPD Builder tool as the technology and disclosure solutions for their initiative. In response, Toxnot makes it easy for product manufacturers & suppliers to respond to LP50 customer requests – and for architects and designers to find products.

When materials are available in Toxnot’s database, they are visible to product manufacturers- and can support their product reporting (Declare Labels, HPDs and more). By working with Toxnot, supplier information directly feeds into a product manufacturer’s reporting- all from one material entry.

Toxnot is proud to be a technology partner in this global commitment to better, safer building products.

Want to Learn More?

Come meet us!  Toxnot’s experts will be presenting at the Living Product Expo – October 8-10, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is an ideal opportunity to learn about all the latest developments in transparency and material health, and also to learn more about automated data exchange with HPD and Declare. Visit productexpo.living-future.org for details and registration

About Toxnot

Toxnot is a recognized leader in the movement to disrupt the notoriously complex supply chain chemical hazard landscape- and build creative solutions for businesses of all kinds.  ILFI’s Declare program uses Toxnot for disclosure and reporting.  Toxnot supports reporting to Declare, Red2Green, HPDs, C2C and GIGA Origin/Mindful Materials as well as providing optional compliance documentation (CAProp 65, REACH, RoHS and Conflict Minerals). By disclosing with Toxnot’s public materials profile, supplier information can then directly feed into a product manufacturer’s report regardless of the requested program standard. Toxnot provides a variety of supplier-controlled options for disclosing different levels of intellectual property.

In 2017, Toxnot won the Environmental Leader Product of the Year Award. For more info, visit www.toxnot.com

Learn more about the Living Product Expo 2017, held on Sept 12 – 14 in Pittsburgh, and register today! Early bird ends August 1st.

A prominent feature of the Living Product Expo are the products themselves, made with innovative materials by companies who are pushing the limit on healthy products.

Photo: Interface

Interface

Product: Global Change Collection

By moving away from petroleum intensive carpet and radically changing their production process, Interface products embody a commitment to sustainability. Their newest Global Change Collection is an interpretation of biophilic design, with a range of colors, textures and formats in both small scale and bold, graphic aesthetics. Because there is complementarity between the patterns and hues of Global Change, product designer Kari Pei refers to the entire collection as a flexible system across various price points. All seven styles could be specified on a single project, combining to create zones and pathways with fluid transitions across the range. Global Change extends their sustainability mission by employing a solution dyed Universal nylon 6,6 yarn system that boasts a 1:4 carbon dioxide output and 75 percent recycled content. It is also remarkably lightweight, thereby reducing the ecological footprint of shipping.

Photo: Metroflor

Metroflor Corporation

Product: Aspecta

MetroFlor has devoted itself to leading the Luxury vinyl flooring category with new products, designs, and manufacturing methods. Metroflor has been at the forefront of the shift away from phthalate plasticizers in all of their products. Their customer service building, Halstead International, has created an attractive and comfortable, energy-efficient workplace using sustainable materials with a long-term cost benefit. Halstead’s building is Georgia’s Tenth LEED Platinum project and the first for the city of Calhoun, GA.

Photo: Assa Abloy

ASSA ABLOY

Product: EcoFlex Electrified Mortise Lock

ASSA ABLOY is a global leader in door opening solutions, and are making their products a vital component of the green marketplace. The team has included ILFI’s Red List into their own internal ‘red list’ so they can continue to phase out harmful chemicals in their products and processes. ASSA ABLOY is seeking Living Product Challenge certification with their newly re-designed EcoFlex Electrified Mortise Lock.  This lock previously used a solenoid motor, which meant it was pulling power continuously. However, the new design has a step driven motor. Acting like a hybrid car, it pulls enough power from the grid to charge the lock and then waits in low energy standby mode until a user presents an access card. Read more about their products on our TrimTab blog.

Photo: Mohawk

Mohawk Group

Product: Lichen Collection

Last month, the Mohawk Group received Petal Certification for Water, Place, and Health & Happiness in the Living Product Challenge for the Lichen Collection, a modular carpet tile product backed by the company’s EcoFlex NXT backing. Designed by ILFI Founder and Board Chairman Jason F. McLennan, the Lichen Collection incorporates both biophilia and biomimicry, and is designed to be manufactured within the water balance for the site of the factory in Calhoun, Ga. Read more about the collection on our TrimTab blog.

Photo: Lightart

Light Art

Product: LA2

“With discerning expertise in architecture, sculpture, and lighting, we specialize in understanding the vision for space and use the art of light to accentuate the desired aesthetic.” –Ryan Smith, President & Creative Director. The result of LightArt’s research and development, LA2 Technologies applies innovations in electronics, materials, and fabrication techniques to create fixtures that feature integrated, proprietary, solid-state LED systems; thin-gauge, lightweight material in over 1,000 color options; and a modular fabrication process to shorten lead time and minimize waste.They are the first light fixtures to earn LBC Compliant status, are designed and built in Seattle, and are able to be completely recycled, reused, or salvaged when clients are finished with them.

Photo: Armstrong

Armstrong Ceilings

Product: SUSTAIN, a portfolio of ceiling systems

Armstrong World Industries offers the largest portfolio of high-performance ceiling and wall systems available today through their collection of SUSTAIN ceiling systems. The SUSTAIN portfolio contributes to better spaces with a complete offering of mineral fiber, fiberglass, metal ceiling panels, Tectum wall and ceiling panels, trims and transitions, and suspension and drywall systems. These products are free of Red List chemicals per Living Building Challenge 3.0 and have Declare labels – see here for the 22+ Armstrong products with labels.

Photo: Biome

Biome

Product: Taiga T35

Biome has created an autonomous panel of nature that can bioremediate your indoor air pollution: Taiga T35. Using silent fans, Taiga absorbs your indoor air and naturally eliminates Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) created from cooking, cleaning products, and everyday products like carpeting and technology products. It is a fully enclosed system, and so no water line or drainage is required. As an immersive piece of landscaping technology, it automatically cares for 35 plants within its 5 air purification chambers. It’s light enough to hang directly on drywall with only drywall anchors for support. The included Biome LightBar shines a crisp white light on your foliage to ensure optimal health and lower maintenance. And, this product is Declare certified, the first technology company to be LBC compliant!

Photo: Ecobalanza

Ecobalanza

Product: Couture Collection

EcoBalanza is building the world’s most ethical luxury upholstered furniture. For over a decade, EcoBalanza has been sourcing the cleanest and most responsible materials, sourced with quality and integrity in mind. Ethically sourced, natural and organic materials create each of their products including finely crafted and sustainable sofas, chairs, ottomans and headboards. The Couture Collection consists of luxurious custom-made green upholstered furniture that can meet your personal preferences. Key features of each Couture piece include eight-way hand-tied coil springs system, under-upholstery layer with certified organic cotton twill and endless customization.

Photo: Teknion

Teknion

Product: Metropolitan ’14

Advancing sustainability is ingrained in the company culture. Teknion’s priorities as manufacturers are to minimize the environmental impact of their work and advance sustainability efforts within the industry as a whole. Eighty percent of Teknion’s component parts are manufactured in-house which provides greater control for them to challenge the status quo. Metropolitan ’14 is a fully upholstered rotating chair with a fully integrated seat cushion. According to Teknion, “the hallmark of the Metropolitan ’14 is the uniform flow of the seat into the armrests, creating a perfect nest for comfort and relaxation.”

Photo: Humanscale

Humanscale

Product: Diffrient Smart Chair and Float Table

To achieve the standards set by the Living Product Challenge (LPC), Jane Abernethy and her staff made significant changes to Humanscale’s facilities, implementing solar panels and a rainwater-capture system. The team also studied the lifecycle of each ingredient in every part of Humanscale’s products and found alternative materials or methods of production if anything was deemed harmful to people or the environment. In 2016, two of their products were the first to be certified under LPC: the Diffrient Smart Chair and the Float Table. At Neocon, Humanscale is introducing the World Chair, made in partnership with Bureo, who is supplying NetPlus, a material made by recycling discarded commercial fishing nets.” One of the company’s primary goals for 2017 is to ensure that its lighting offerings contain zero red-list (harmful) materials. For more on Humanscale’s endeavors, see their commitment to the LPC in this video.

Learn more about the Living Product Expo 2017, held on Sept 12 – 14 in Pittsburgh, and register today! Early bird ends August 1st.

Pittsburgh is the birthplace of American manufacturing and a city with a vision to reimagine itself as a center for innovation, green manufacturing, and job creation. The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is partnering with Green Building Alliance (GBA) to help make this vision a reality through the creation of a Living Product “Hub”. Co-located at GBA’s office in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood, the Hub will serve as a center of education and outreach, connecting innovative buildings, communities, and projects to the Institute’s network in order to accelerate regenerative buildings and manufacturing.

“The Hub will support Pittsburgh’s ongoing efforts to reinvent itself as a place where innovation and invention meet the future,” said James Connelly, Director of the Living Product Challenge for ILFI. “Through the Living Product Challenge—our aspirational framework for rethinking product design and manufacturing—and the Declare label program, we will provide hands-on assistance to companies who are committed to creating transparent, nontoxic and sustainable products.”

ILFI will partner with Green Building Alliance to implement the Living Product Hub and add regenerative content, GBA’s existing educational events, technical support, and resources. Through this mutually supportive collaboration, ILFI and GBA will advance their missions and accelerate sustainable development across Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and beyond.

“We are thrilled to be working with Green Building Alliance to help realize the next generation of regenerative Living Buildings, Communities, and Products”, added Amanda Sturgeon CEO of ILFI. “With world leading projects at Phipps Conservatory and the Frick Environmental Center–and innovative organizations like GBA, Pittsburgh is already ahead of the curve. We are excited to build on that success.”

“We are always working to advance green buildings and sustainable development for all through innovation,” said Dr. Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of GBA. “We are excited to partner with the Institute to bring their vision, ideas, and programs to Pennsylvania in a manner that enhances past and existing efforts, while supporting product manufacturers and researchers in adding greater transparency and environmental intention to the built environment’s supply chain.”

ILFI will also create an advisory board for the Living Product Hub comprised of Pittsburgh sustainability leaders drawn from business, academia, government, nonprofits, and foundations. The advisory board will support the Hub by providing strategic advice, connection, and support to ensure the initiative’s success in supporting the Pittsburgh region’s ongoing transformational green story.

To kick off this collaboration, ILFI and GBA will host a Hub launch at the Phipps Conservatory, April 18^th from 5-7pm. Join us to learn more about this exciting initiative and connect with ILFI and GBA leadership.

Humanscale, Bureo, Owens Corning and Garden Tower Project have received Living Product certification for new and redesigned products that meet the high bar of the Living Product Challenge, that is, to design and manufacture products that function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. Turning inspiration into action, these forward-thinking companies were awarded new certifications at the second annual Living Product Expo, hosted by the International Living Future Institute September 13-15, 2016, in Pittsburgh. For more information, visit the website.

“These leading companies are writing a new chapter in industrial design and challenging the status quo when it comes to how products are designed, sourced and manufactured.” said James Connelly, Director of the Living Product Challenge for the Institute. “And, they are at the Living Product Expo to share and discover disruptive new ideas and technologies that are reshaping the materials landscape, accelerating the pace of transformation and making Living Products possible today.”

The full list of newly certified Living Products includes:

Left to Right: Jane Abernathy, HumanScale; Amanda Sturgeon, ILFI; Richard Piacentini, Phipps Conservatory; James Connelly, ILFI

Humanscale Diffrient^® Smart Chair — Full Living Product certification
The Humanscale Smart^® Chair is an ergonomically designed commercial desk chair that required a significant redesign on the path to Living Product Certification. Often, commercial office chairs are covered with fabrics that contain perfluorinated compounds. These chemicals, according to the National Institutes of Health, contribute to the body burden of toxicity and have a several year half-life, which means that the time it takes for the chemicals to leave the body can be several years. Humanscale has eliminated perfluorinated compounds from the redesigned Smart^® Chair, which is manufactured in a solar powered facility with a newly installed rainwater collection system that offsets the water used in production.

Humanscale Float Table — Full Living Product certification
The Float Table is an innovative sit/stand desk that ‘floats’ effortlessly when you push a small lever, contributing to an ergonomically superior sit/stand work experience. Humanscale removed PVC from the product—a material with significant lifecycle health concerns—and is working to ensure the remaining product ingredients are fully optimized and safe for humans and the environment. The product is manufactured in a process powered by 100% renewable energy onsite. “The lifecycle health benefits of using this product versus traditional tables is massively positive when compared to the potential health consequences of tradition design and production,” said Connelly.

“Both newly-certified Humanscale products are not only Net Positive for Water and Energy onsite – but we have conducted a rigorous LCA on each product and are now working to create Energy, Water and Carbon Handprints greater than the footprint of each product,” said Jane Abernethy, Humanscale’s sustainability officer. “We are increasing our handprint by switching to recycled nylon made from fishing nets from Bureo, teaming up with Kohler and an NGO to supply Clarity water filters, and providing water heater blankets to school children.” The practice of Handprinting refers to the measurement of positive impacts that a company makes compared to business as usual in addition to reducing their environmental footprint. More on the Humanscale achievement here.

Left to Right: Ben Kneppers, Bureo; Amanda Sturgeon, ILFI; Richard Piacentini, Phipps Conservatory

Bureo – Net+Positiva Plastic — Petal Certified for Water and Materials
Bureo is a unique company designed around the concept of net positive, and its first product was a skateboard made of recycled fishing nets from coastal artisanal fishing communities, which has been widely recognized for ingenuity in design and sourcing, with investors including the Patagonia $20 Million and Change Fund. Bureo has achieved Living Product Petal Certification for Water and Materials for its Net+Positiva Plastic, recycled plastic resin and pellets which they source from fishing nets, and which they intend to sell to other consumer goods companies to scale up their business.

“Bureo recently installed low flow shower heads in their production facility and is planning to distribute them in communities in which they work, which contributed to the Water Petal certification,” said Connelly. “Bureo is also investing in a solar array for a nearby community school for disadvantaged youth, which will contribute to the company’s full Living Product Certification.”

Left to Right: Nasreen Olang, Owens Corning; Amanda Sturgeon, ILFI; Richard Piacentini, Phipps Conservatory; James Connelly, ILFI

Owens Corning® EcoTouch® PINK® Fiberglas Insulation – Unfaced – Living Product Imperative Certification
With EcoTouch® unfaced fiberglass insulation, Owens Corning achieves its second Living Product Imperative Certification for a product that reflects the company’s long-term commitment to sustainability. EcoTouch® is a residential and commercial insulation product that is certified to include a minimum of 65% total recycled content^, and is GREENGUARD validated to be formaldehyde free.

“Owens Corning’s commitment to sustainability is embedded in the foundation of its product stewardship process,” said Connelly. “A core value of the company is developing products that make the world a better place.”

Left to Right: Joel Grant and Amy Rhodes, Garden Tower; Amanda Sturgeon, ILFI; Richard Piacentini, Phipps Conservatory

Garden Tower Project – Living Product Petal Certification for Water and Materials
Garden Tower is committed to socially-responsible practices at every level, and has a mission to help transform the face of gardening and food sustainability. The uniquely designed composting Garden Tower allows for the growing of a large variety of food in a very small space. The product has achieved Petal Certification for Water and Materials, and the company is currently implementing a new low-carbon, bio-based plastic, a first for its product category.

“Garden Tower’s social mission is just as critical to the company’s certification as is their material health and regenerative manufacturing innovations,” said James Connelly. “It is a great example of a new product that has the power to transform traditional industries.”

About the Living Product Challenge
The Living Product Challenge re-imagines the design and construction of products to function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. The creation of this program kicked off a groundbreaking new event that brought together leading minds in the product industry to inspire a revolution in the way materials are designed, manufactured and delivered: the Living Product Expo.

At the first event in 2015 sustainability directors from the world’s leading design firms, prominent manufacturers and sustainability consultants learned about and shared game-changing innovations in product design.

This second annual event moves from inspiration to action. The Expo is an opportunity for participants to share and discover disruptive new ideas and technologies that are reshaping the materials landscape, accelerating the pace of innovation and making Living Products possible today. Join us, and together we will craft the future of materials.

About the International Living Future Institute
The International Living Future Institute is an inspiring hub for visionary programs. Our mission is to lead and support the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. Com­posed of leading green building experts and thought-leaders, the Institute is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The Institute runs the Living Building Challenge, Living Community Challenge, Living Product Challenge, Net Zero Energy Certification, the Cascadia Green Building Coun­cil, Ecotone Publishing, Declare, JUST and other leading-edge programs. A global network of nearly 700 volunteers across nearly 42 countries drive the local adoption of restorative principles in their com­munities.

A University of Oregon design team has won the first Living Product Prize in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge for the Living Filtration System, an innovation that creates healthier soils by preventing nutrients from leaving fields in runoff. Their $10,000 Living Product Prize win was announced at the Living Product Expo in Pittsburgh, PA yesterday.

“Living Filtration System has proven the adage that if it exists, it must be possible,” said International Living Future Institute CEO Amanda Sturgeon, in presenting the award. “With an elegant design and a sustainable intention, the Living Filtration System was inspired by biomimicry, mimicking the form and function of earthworms in creating natural filtration systems. This innovative product has the real potential to transform agriculture.”

ILFI CEO Amanda Sturgeon, John Lanier, executive director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, and James Connelly, director of the Living Product Challenge for ILFI.

The Living Product Prize is a new initiative of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, an annual team competition hosted by the Biomimicry Institute and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation that focuses on nature-inspired solutions to critical sustainability issues. Entries for the Living Product Prize must meet the rigorous performance categories outlined in the Living Product Challenge (LPC), a program of the International Living Future Institute. The goal of the prize is to highlight design products that mimic nature’s design principles and function as elegantly as anything found in the natural world. There are two awards – a $1,500 prize for a student team, and a $10,000 prize for a team in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge Accelerator. The student prize was awarded in August 2016 to AquaCity Garden, a modular garden system designed for interior spaces that uses less water, is more space efficient, and promotes healthy eating.

The Living Filtration System is a biomimetic-inspired concept designed to mitigate the environmental impact of agriculture, inspired by the form and function of earthworms, wetlands and the human small intestine. This transitional technology was created to replace conventional agricultural drainage systems and capture excess nutrients in runoff, reducing fertilizer use and improving soil health.

“The Living Product Challenge criteria provide excellent guidance for how teams can apply nature’s deep principles to the design of their products,” says Megan Schuknecht, the Biomimicry Institute’s director of design challenges. “The criteria emphasize outcomes that help our design challenge teams situate their designs and business plans within a regenerative, systems context. Together with the International Living Future Institute, we are working to transform products and systems to be in harmony with nature.”

About the Living Product Challenge
The Living Product Challenge, a program of the International Living Future Institute re-imagines the design and construction of products to function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. Living Products are informed by biomimicry and biophilia; manufactured by processes powered only by renewable energy and within the water balance of the places they are made. Living Products improve our quality of life and bring joy through their beauty and functionality. Imagine a Living Product whose very existence builds soil; creates habitat; nourishes the human spirit; and provides inspiration for personal, political and economic change.

About the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge
The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge is the Biomimicry Institute’s flagship challenge, hosted in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. It is an annual competition that invites students and professionals to address critical sustainability issues with nature-inspired solutions. Finalists and winners selected by our expert jury are eligible to win prize money as well as assistance in bringing their solution to the global marketplace via an Accelerator program. At the end of the Accelerator, one team will be awarded the $100,000 “Ray of Hope” prize, endowed by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. The first Ray of Hope prize will be awarded in October 2016 at Bioneers.

The Challenge is coordinated each year around a theme, or problem area, for which participating teams are asked to design solutions. Learn more about the current theme by reading the Challenge brief and browsing the reference collection. To help teams that are new to the practice of biomimicry, the Biomimicry Institute also provides extensive online resources as well as a directory of experts and mentors who are available as advisors.

The Challenge includes two entry categories: one for students only (high school or university) and an open category, which teams of any composition can enter. Judging and awards are category specific and only entrants in the open category are eligible to advance to the Accelerator program.

About the Ray C. Anderson Foundation
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote a sustainable society by supporting and funding educational and project-based initiatives that advance knowledge and innovation in sustainability. http://www.raycandersonfoundation.org

Keeping plants in your home has been said to reduce stress and create a healthier living environment. However, the associated care with house plants is often a barrier for people.

In California, a group of students recognized the importance of having bits of nature in the home and submitted a winning solution to the student Living Product Prize competition.

Aquacity is a biomimicry-inspired product that combines the structural integrity of a honeycomb, the luminescence and water sensitivity of the Lobed Comb Jellyfish, the habitat of a Suriname sea toad, and the earth’s water cycles.

The product concept is a modular, vertical hydroponic plant system that can adapt to any surface. The adaptability allows for decentralized plant cultivation and the ability to easily create an indoor garden. Entrants of the Student Living Product Prize were tasked consider how their product, the manufacturing process, and their business model could align with the Living Product Challenge (LPC) framework, and also use biomimicry principles.

Aquacity is designed to be manufactured using simple, highly-recyclable and recycled materials like high-density polyethylene using renewable energy. No soil is required, and the team estimates the system would use 90% less water than traditional gardening methods. The sound of flowing water helps to further connect users to natural cycles, and changing LED light colors alert users to changing nutrient levels in the water.

The winning team, a team of students from California State University, will receive $1,500 and professional coaching to help put their ideas into action from ILFI in recognition of their achievement. Contestants in the Open Category are still competing for a $10,000 Living Product Prize, which will be announced at the Living Product Expo, September 13-15 in Pittsburgh. Learn more about the Living Product Expo here.

The Living Product Prize is just one piece of a growing partnership with the Biomimicry Institute. Alignment between the vision and principles of these two organizations made the Living Product Prize a natural fit within the Global Design Challenge. 

The companies below are examples of industry disrupters that will be at the Living Product Expo this September. Join us in Pittsburgh to learn how you can help transform your organization into a key influencer in human and environmental health. Register here.

Our homes are fraught with carcinogens. Endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins, and alaundry list of other types of harmful chemicals are likely in every room of your house. These toxins are in both the hygiene products in your medicine cabinet and also in the materials that make up your bathroom.

If a consumer was posed with the choice between a product that contains toxins or a comparable nontoxic product, one would imagine that the consumer would clearly choose the latter. Historically, chemical-free alternatives were not largely available, but recently, consumers are gaining ever-growing access to healthier options. Companies are learning that manufacturing healthy products is indeed marketable, cost effective, and a smart business practice.

You can now find healthier alternative products in standard retailers, ranging from household cleaners that contain innocuous ingredients like baking soda, to furniture that is free from halogenated flame retardant (HFRs) coatings.

Ingredients transparency gives consumers the option to make informed choices about the products they buy, and is a trend that is on the upswing. Below are a list of ten companies who are forging the craze toward a healthy materials economy.

1. Health Care Without Harm: Works to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health. Robin Guenther, Senior Advisor at Health Care Without Harm, will be joining us at this year’s Expo as a keynote speaker and exploring the importance of health care architecture and materials health.
2. Humanscale: Humanscale, an ergonomic office products manufacturer, strives to improve health and comfort at work. Sustainability of both design and materials is at the heart of their work. Their commitment to sustainable products can be seen as they strive toward successfully completing the Living Product Challenge with their latest Diffrient Smart Chair and Float Table.
   
   
   
3. Tarkett: As a global leader in sustainable flooring solutions, Tarkett upholds a four part strategy within their mission: use better materials, practice resource stewardship, create people friendly spaces, and reuse and recycle. With their 2020 Sustainability Roadmap, Tarkett is moving forward with their commitment for a circular economy and will closely monitor progress and initiatives across the company through their four pillars.
4. Interface: The world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet, Interface, is a catalyst in the redesign of the carpet industry. By moving away from petroleum intensive carpet and radically changing their production process, Interface products embody a commitment to sustainability. This commitment can be further witnessed in their bold new initiative Climate Take Back, a solutions based approach on climate change. 
5. Ecovative: A leading biomaterials company that grows high performance, Earth friendly materials, which unlike conventional synthetics, can have a positive impact on our planet’s ecosystem. Their natural Myco Foam Mushroom Packaging serves as a premium alternative to fabricated foam packaging.With mushroom materials, Ecovative is paving the way toward a green packaging industry.
   
6. Herman Miller: A globally recognized furniture manufacture, Herman Miller believes that effective design can elevate the human experience. Many of their innovations are inspired by collaboration with customers. Nemschoff, a Herman Miller company, provides innovative furnishings for healthcare and other high-use environments. They believe that people make a difference and design can improve the way we work, heal and live.
7. Skanska: As one of the world’s leading construction groups, Skanska builds for a better society and a sustainable future for people and communities. Skanska built the Bertschi Living Building Science Wing, a fully certified Living Building, and firmly believes in their role to lead through environmentally responsible innovation. Their Journey to Deep Green goes beyond formal compliance and serves as a strategic tool to measure and guide green activities.
   
   

   © Benjamin Benschneider

8. ZGF (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP): A design firm focused on architecture, interior design and urban design. ZGF’s design philosophy is centered on its premise that design excellence should be reflected in every aspect of a building -its fit with the community, it’s function and relationships to its users, its building systems and its cost.
9. Owens Corning: Owens Corning develops, manufactures and markets insulation, roofing and fiberglass composites. Because expanding impact through sustainability is defined as a core value, Owens Corning’s products and people strive to make the world a better place. Their unbonded loosefill insulation for walls, attics, ceilings and floors, one of the world’s first certified Living Products, is both innovative and eco-friendly.
   
10. Architecture 2030: A non-profit established in response to climate change crisis by Ed Mazria in 2002. Their mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate crisis. By 2030, their goal is to move toward carbon-neutrality for individual buildings, districts, cities, and building products. 

You can learn more from these companies and other industry disrupters at the Living Product Expo this September. Join us in Pittsburgh to learn how you can help transform your organization into a key influencer in human and environmental health. Register here.

Cara Rude is the Director of Interior Design at McCool Carlson Green in Alaska. She is passionate about creating spaces that are conducive to healthy living. She attended the Living Product Expo is Pittsburgh last fall, and is now sharing why she’ll be joining us again this September.

I couldn’t wait to attend the first-ever Living Product Expo. The Expo was a place to create partnerships with manufacturers, designers, and producers who are passionate about creating regenerative products. I wanted to be part of this material revolution.

A big part of the Living Product Expo is the trade show portion, which is a great opportunity to get acquainted with new materials and vendors. At McCool Carlson Green, we are committed to Red-list-free materials specification. The Expo was a helpful resource to find new products. One of my favorite vendors from last year was Thermacork. The company produces 100% natural insulation that meets the R-values needs in Alaska, and can be used for roofing, exterior walls, partitions, flooring and ceilings.

Thermacork , expanded cork insulation, is made without added chemicals and is a completely renewable resource.

The Expo also introduced me to Purebond, a soy-based adhesive hardwood plywood. We now plan to use Purebond in our projects because the company provides products that celebrate Pacific Northwest woods without added formaldehydes.

I also discovered a high-performance biomaterial created from mushrooms and agricultural waste! Ecovative materials are used for packaging, insulation, structural substrate and even surfboards. The best part is that all of Ecovative’s ingredients are renewable and non-toxic.

Ecovative Design’s Foam Mushroom Packaging is natural, protective packaging that serves as a premium alternative to fabricated foam packaging.

This year at the Expo, I know that I’ll find more great products that are propelling the building industry toward a healthier place. The companies that participate in the Expo are successful because they are cross-disciplinary and willing to collaborate. Many of the most useful conversations that I had last year were with permaculture Supply Chain Specialists, chemists, and representatives from a cosmetic company. Join me at the Living Product Expo to work together to expand the ever-growing spread of healthy materials.

To meet Cara Rude and partake in the Living Product Expo experience, join us September 13-15 in Pittsburgh. Register here.