A team of Rhode Island School of Design students and researchers have created tesselated, floating planting beds made of a mycelium biomaterial to cleanse waterways of pollutants and restore wetland habitat. More
Sportswear brand Puma has said it is a step closer to launching a truly biodegradable shoe, following a trial in which a specially made version of its Suede sneakers decomposed under strict conditions. More
Dutch company Human Material Loop is using an unusual waste source to make a zero-carbon wool alternative that requires no land or water use: human hair. More
Chinese materials company Yi Design has developed a porous brick made from recycled ceramic waste that could be used to prevent flooding in urban areas. More
A 3D-printed sofa, a biodegradable urn and a "net-zero carbon shoe" are among a growing cohort of products that are pushing the envelope of what sheep's wool can do. More
The process of using bacteria to colour textiles has been brought to a commercial scale by British company Colorifix, which hopes to cut the fashion industry's use of toxic chemical dyes. More
Surfacing brand Armourcoat has launched a range of textured, biodegradable wall plaster surfaces that combine the natural appearance of clay with enhanced durability. More
Promotion: Austrian facade specialist Rieder worked with architecture studio Faerber to preserve the original structure of a townhouse through the installation of a three-dimensional concrete facade. More
Designer Emy Bensdorp has found a way to clean PFAS "forever chemicals" from contaminated clay soil by firing it into bricks as part of a project showcased at Dutch Design Week. More
A group of design graduates from London's Royal College of Art have come up with a way to make RFID tags entirely from paper, with no metal or silicon components in a bid to cut down on waste from single-use electronics. More
British startup The Tyre Collective has begun to make products from the microplastic particles that come off car tyres as they drive on roads, producing results including jewellery, a lamp and a battery. More
British designer Gareth Neal and Dutch studio The New Raw have used thrice-recycled plastic and a new 3D-printing method to create the objects in the Digitally Woven series, which are printed in loops rather than layers. More
In collaboration with Colorado-based Prometheus Materials, architecture studio SOM has created a spiral installation made of bio-bricks for the 2023 Chicago Architecture Biennial. More
Danish toymaker Lego has abandoned its pilot programme to make recycled plastic bricks from discarded bottles after projections suggested that, adopted at scale, the material would ultimately have a higher carbon footprint. More
After years of exploring the merging of biotechnology with design, Natsai Audrey Chieza and Christina Agapakis have started what they describe as the "first biodesign lifestyle brand", which launched at London Design Festival. More
A team of scientists from universities in the United States have developed a silicon-based coating that can help stop the spread of fires by preventing materials coming in contact with flame. More
Local design firm Prowl Studio and investment company Baukunst have shown a variety of sustainable materials including aquatic plants meant for animal feed and an electric RV at a pop-up exhibition in San Francisco. More
Central Saint Martins graduate Arianna Pezzano has developed a way to make nipple prosthetics from keratin extracted from hair lost during chemotherapy, to help breast cancer patients "regain a sense of wholeness". More
Designer Eleonora Ortolani has created what she believes to be the first food made from plastic waste, as part of her final-year project at Central Saint Martins. More
Materials can become a much bigger part of our everyday lives and the way we see the world if people are willing to give up mass production, Natural Material Studio founder Bonnie Hvillum tells Dezeen in this interview. More