Four designers from London's Royal College of Art have recycled the toxic red mud residue from aluminium production to make a series of terracotta-hued cups, bowls and teapots. More
UNStudio and Monopol Colors have created an extremely reflective white paint that can reduce the amount of heat buildings absorb and cool cities in the face of climate change. More
New Zealand-born designer Sophie Rowley gives new life to discarded denim offcuts by recycling them into pieces of furniture with marble-like markings. More
Researchers at University of Maryland have invented a smart material capable of warming up a person when they're cold and cooling them down when they're hot. More
Four designers from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College have developed a series of machines that turn seafood waste into a biodegradable and recyclable bioplastic. More
Amsterdam-based Studio Drift "de-produced" a bicycle and a pencil into the chunks of the materials used to make them for an exhibit at the inaugural Frieze Art Fair in Los Angeles. More
Layer has developed a smart textile for use in Airbus' economy class seating, which would allow passengers to monitor and control their seat conditions using their phone. More
Copenhagen-based textile designer Margrethe Odgaard plays with perception of colour and space in this line of satin-woven curtains for Danish brand Kvadrat. More
Dutch designer Simone Post has created a series of graphic rugs from old trainers – one of the hardest fashion products to recycle – for sportswear giant Adidas. More
University of Pennsylvania engineers have altered a sheet of nickel to produce a material they call "metallic wood", which is extremely strong and light. More
Spierings' Echo combines bespoke speakers with removable tubes made of different materials that can be used to alter the properties of the music played by the system. More
Tom Dixon has designed a collection of candle holders and bookends, made from a newly developed material that resembles three-dimensional marbled paper. More
Chile-based designer Margarita Talep has created a sustainable, biodegradable alternative to single-use packaging, using raw material extracted from algae. More
London-based architect and designer Bastian Beyer's project explores the potential of using knitted textile structures that have been biologically solidified as sustainable construction materials. More
UK national newspaper The Guardian has scrapped its polythene packaging in favour of a compostable wrapping made from potato starch, in a bid to reduce its plastic waste. More
BMW's creative division Designworks has teamed up with The North Face to design a futuristic camper concept, which utilises nanospinning technology to shelter its inhabitants from extreme weather conditions. More
London-based designer Nir Meiri has created a series of table lamps using mushroom mycelium, as an alternative to synthetic materials. More
Engineers at Columbia University have 3D-printed a block of "digital wood", using a voxel technique that enables the creation of objects with rich internal textures. More
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Tim Teven has developed a process for making furniture and building blocks using the waste separated from paper fibre during the recycling process. More
Designers experimented with unusual materials throughout 2018, from innovative new products to waste. Design editor Augusta Pownall picks out 10 of the best for our review of the year. More
