As we join together to creative a positive future for our planet, visionary thinkers in Sustainable Design are innovating with new products and projects that protect our environment, reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, reduce waste, minimise energy and water consumption, and create healthy environments and communities.
This category seeks to award one outstanding Australian sustainable designed product, concept, idea or initiative, developed by either an individual, group or organisation. Any project which is exemplary of sustainable innovation is eligible, including functional products, furniture and lighting, as well as concepts, ideas and community initiatives with positive environmental outcomes. Conceptual projects (as yet unrealised) are eligible to enter if sufficient development of the idea can be documented.
Architecture projects are not eligible in this category. Sustainable residential projects are encouraged to enter in the Residential Architecture category.
One winner in the Sustainable Design or Initiative category will be awarded a $2000 cash prize. Up to two commendations will also be awarded.
The Sustainable Design + Initiative category will accept submissions for products, concepts, ideas and community initiatives with positive environmental outcomes that have been created in the past three years – between January 1st 2018 and April 27th 2021.
Applications will be shortlisted by The Design Files team. Shortlisted entries will be assessed by two expert judges, on the following criteria :
Potential for fulfilment of the brief / project objective
Originality – something we haven’t seen before, something invented from scratch.
Visual Appeal – beauty, boldness, aesthetic appeal. (assessed for designed products only)
Function – how well does the product / project identify and provide solutions for the desired functional outcomes?
Sustainability – how well does this project or product contribute to positive environmental outcomes, with specific consideration of the environmental impact of any manufacturing or building processes, management and reduction of waste, water and energy consumption, and assessment of positive environmental or community outcomes.
Visionary thinking – does this project push boundaries, does it achieve something bigger than the intended commercial outcomes?
Bonus points will be awarded to projects with pro bono or community focussed outcomes, and/or projects limited by an unusually tiny budget.
Great Wrap is a certified home-compostable cling wrap that performs exactly like conventional cling wrap, except it breaks down into carbon and water in less than 180 days when composted.
The product is made from potato waste and a mix of other compostable biopolymers, and manufactured for home and industrial use at a solar powered factory on the Mornington Peninsula.
On half a South Melbourne block demolished to make way for new development, Revival Project have salvaged over 2000 lineal metres of timber beams, and are using them to manufacture furniture and joinery. This manufacturing is being completed in a workshop on site, and items will feature in the eventual development.
Bedding and sleepwear label ettitude developed CleanBamboo – a fabric produced in a non-toxic, closed loop system that reuses water up to 200 times, recycling 98% of water in the process. Compared to cotton, one set of these ettitudesheets requires just one tenth of the water to manufacture.
Ross Harding is a creative environmental consultant with an academic background in engineering and finance. His practice Finding Infinity, provides self-sufficiency advice, with projects ranging from houses to city-wide masterplans.
Good Citizens was born in 2018 over a family dinner between Nik Robinson and his young sons. The family were upset about the amount of plastic waste in the world, so they created Good Citizens, which turns 600ml plastic bottles into locally-manufactured sunglasses made from 100% recycled materials.
An architect and a natural winemaker quit their day jobs and teamed up to create Great Wrap. This certified home compostable cling wrap performs exactly like conventional cling wrap, except it’s made from food waste and breaks down into carbon and water in less than 180 days.
Tempering aesthetic beauty with future thinking, Other Matter has generated a collection of bioplastic tableware made using algae polymers and pigments. These aesthetically striking pieces reminiscent of glass are recyclable, biodegradable, and can be composted in a home system.
Use Daily makes sustainable accessories from discarded outdoor materials such as awnings, tents and tarps. The brand was founded in 2020 by multidisciplinary designers Cleo Coppinger and Joshua Anderson, and bags are made in Fitzroy North by local maker Vanessa Flynn.
Cutoffs once destined for landfill have been gathered from the Nobody Denim cutting room floor and re-routed to the hands of weaver and designer, Georgina Whigham. In her Canberra studio, she wove this series of one-of-a-kind recycled denim hats and bags on behalf of her eponymous label, GEORGE.
Bedding and sleepwear label ettitude developed CleanBamboo – a fabric produced in a non-toxic, closed loop system that reuses water up to 200 times, recycling 98% of water in the process. Compared to cotton, one set of these ettitudesheets requires just one tenth of the water to manufacture.
In 2021, ROCC launched Australia’s first biodegradable toothpaste tube. Each tube breaksdown in landfill in just six years – not 500 as currently standard – and is engineered in a way to not break into microplastics.
The Better Uniforms Co. specialises in minimal, aesthetic uniforms using organic fabrics and ethical manufacturing, resulting in durable uniforms made to order in four to six weeks. The label’s first collection features 10 classic items in seven colours.
Single Use Ain’t Sexy created Australia’s first dissolvable hand soap tablet. Just add water in their reusable glass bottles and wash your hands – without plastic waste. The business has now saved up to 125,000 single-use plastic bottles from landfill.
Hydrogen Fuels Australia are providing a revolutionary alternative to fossil fuels, and were seeking to reimagine the way one experiences refuelling. Designer Sarah Ceravolo has imagined H_Station – a hydrogen refuelling station for the future. H_Station is a modular construction with a light footprint on the land it resides on and therefore can be easily and delicately relocated, preserving natural ecosystems. The site is planned for first stage of construction to be completed in February 2022 in Truganina, Melbourne, Vic.
On half a South Melbourne block demolished to make way for new development, Revival Project have salvaged over 2000 lineal metres of timber beams, and are using them to manufacture furniture and joinery. This manufacturing is being completed in a workshop on site, and items will feature in the eventual development.
Cultivated is Cult Design’s in-house program that provides buy back, refurbishment. and recycling services for authentic designer furniture. From a single lounge chair in need of re-upholstering, to an entire office space of worn-out seating, Cultivated works with local manufacturers and craftspeople to restore, reinvigorate or recycle original design.
Pleasant State developed Australia’s first just-add-water cleaning bars. Simply fill a 500ml spray bottle with warm water, drop in the concentrated cleaning bar, wait for it to dissolve and then get cleaning. The objective is to help forward thinking Australians reduce their use of single-use plastics.