A major initiative aiming to rid a rubbish-riddled area of the Pacific Ocean from its discarded plastic will begin work within the next 12 months. More about The Ocean Cleanup will begin extracting plastic from the Pacific in 2018
As the state of the environment becomes an ever-pressing issue, designers are developing eco-friendly alternatives to all sorts of products. To celebrate Earth Day, we've rounded up 10 examples, including a kitchen made from recycled bottles and a pollution-absorbing bikini. More about 10 sustainable designs that offer alternatives to everyday products
Skylights top eight angular peaks on the roof of this exhibition centre in the Chinese city of Nanjing by architecture firm NBBJ, funnelling natural light down into the interior. More about Mountain landscapes inform peaked roof of NBBJ's Nanjing exhibition centre
Slovakian designer Šimon Kern's Beleaf chair is made from a mixture of recycled leaves and bio-resin. More about Šimon Kern makes chair from recycled fallen leaves
Dezeen promotion: designers are invited to come up with innovative solutions to revamp public spaces in the City of London, in the first of three competitions as part of the A Smarter City initiative. More about A Smarter City competition calls for innovative designs for London's green spaces
Plants grow up the exterior of this green apartment tower in Paris, France, which was designed by local firm Maison Edouard François to spread seeds across the city. More about Edouard François creates plant-covered housing block to disperse seeds across Paris
Christien Meindertsma's Flax chair has won two Dutch Design Awards for its innovative use of flax fibre combined with bioplastic. More about Christien Meindertsma designs biodegradable chair using flax and bioplastic
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Tamara Orjola's Forest Wool stools and carpets are made from processed pine needles left over from the timber industry. More about Tamara Orjola makes furniture and textiles using pine needles
Taiwanese designer Sheng-Hung Lee and Malaysian designer Wan Kee Lee have created a concept for a new kind of sea defence that also functions as a set of giant plant pots. More about TetraPOT is a greener alternative to concrete coastal defences
Graduate shows 2016: Vilnius Academy of Arts graduate Austeja Platukyte has designed a range of packaging using a material made from algae, which could replace non-biodegradable forms of plastic (+ slideshow). More about Austeja Platukyte's packaging is made from biodegradable algae-based plastic
To celebrate Earth Day, we've put together some of the best examples of green and eco-friendly projects on Dezeen – from a vertical garden covering the side of a five-storey Parisian block, to a bikini designed to absorb pollution from the sea. See more sustainable design »
More about Today we like: sustainable design
Dutch designer Dave Hakkens has updated his series of Precious Plastic machines, which anyone can build and use to make products by recycling the material (+ movie). More about Dave Hakkens updates open-source Precious Plastic recycling machines
DesignMarch 2016: product design student Ari Jónsson has combined red algae powder with water to create a biodegradable bottle. More about Ari Jónsson uses algae to create biodegradable water bottles
Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has turned a group of wind turbines into a light installation by connecting the structures with moving laser beams (+ movie). More about Daan Roosegaarde uses green lasers to showcase the "beauty" of wind turbines
An Australian duo have created a floating rubbish bin that can be installed in marinas to filter litter from the water (+ movie). More about Floating Seabin cleans the ocean by sucking rubbish from the water
London Design Festival 2015: the studio launched by London designer Benjamin Hubert has partnered with environmental consultancy Carbon Trust to produce a concept wearable that could track individual carbon footprints (+ movie). More about Layer's concept wearable tracks personal carbon consumption
Architecture studio Penda has created a rope-bound bamboo pavilion as a mock up of a modular housing system developed to provide sustainable housing schemes for populations of up to 200,000 (+ slideshow). More about Penda's bamboo pavilion could be expanded to create homes for 200,000 people
Wooden shingles clad the end wall and pitched roofs of this terrace in the English county of Hampshire, designed as a prototype for affordable, sustainable construction in the area (+ slideshow). More about Ash Sakula Architects designs three mews houses for a rural eco development
Italian studio Henry&Co has used a material created by binding hay and grass to form the seat of this untreated beech wood stool. More about Henry&Co's Chayr features a seat made from hay and grass
UK menswear designer Tom Cridland has launched a unisex sweater that comes with a 30-year guarantee, to promote sustainable fashion. More about Tom Cridland proposes alternative to throwaway fashion with The 30 Year Sweatshirt