Baby shoes that dissolve in water

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Don’t throw out used baby shoes—boil them. That’s what Woolybubs founders Jesse and Megan Milliken say parents can do with the company’s biodegradable baby shoes that dissolve in boiling water. The company, based in Portland, Ore., says more than 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away ea…
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Longer-lasting implantable batteries

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Researchers at MIT have come up with a way to improve the energy density of nonrechargeable batteries that could enable up to a 50 percent increase in useful lifetime, or a corresponding decrease in size and weight for a given amount of power or energy capacity. The new technology could also improve…
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Leather made from flowers

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

“Flaux” is a new leather-like, textile material that uses waste from commercially produced flowers as its main ingredient and dye. When Irene Purasachit was a design student at Aalto University in Finland, she began to reflect on the aftermath of wedding ceremonies in her home country of Thailan…
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Medical boot or high fashion footwear

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

MSCHF, a New York-based art collective known for out-of-the-box shoe designs, has introduced an orthopedic shoe (or boot) that resembles an ankle cast, but is designed to make long walks more comfortable. The AC-1 is more of a fashion statement designed to look like a medical boot, but given that it…
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3M, DOE reduce N95 costs

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has collaborated with multinational tech company 3M to develop a technique to reduce the amount of energy required for melt-blowing the materials needed in N95 masks and other applications. The melt-blowing process is also used for …
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Heated apparel for USA bobsledders

February 1, 2023  |  Swatches

ORORO Heated Apparel, based in Las Vegas, Nev., has announced a four-year partnership with USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS). The company will be the presenting sponsor of the USABS National Team Trials (2022-2026), an event that determines which athletes will make the national team, and it will provide …
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Concrete buildings from inflatables

January 1, 2023  |  Swatches

A New York-based start-up called Automatic Construction has developed a way to create quick construction using inflatable flexible formwork.
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3D Knit BioSuit

January 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Space is referred to as a vacuum because there is a near-total lack of gas molecules. That means there’s also a complete lack of pressure, so the air inside an unprotected astronaut’s lungs would quickly rush out of the body, gasses in body fluids would expand and the skin would inflate like a b…
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Low-cost wearable electronics

January 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Fabric researchers at the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University have created a technique for embroidering power-generating yarns onto fabric. This process allows researchers to embed a self-powered, numerical touchpad and movement sensors into clothing to offer a low-cost, sc…
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Sustainable bicycle helmet

January 1, 2023  |  Swatches

Bicycle helmets have been shown to decrease the risk of a serious or fatal head injury by 70%. But bicycle helmets are made of plastic and expanded polystyrene (EPS), both fossil fuel-based and bad for the environment.
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