Word of the month ~ 11 2025
Reimagine
For generations, people have been inspired by the simple and elegant solutions in Nature to reimagine our world and our future. This inspiration can start anywhere, often with a single question: what if…?
You have to see the normal world and always asking yourself
what if...
what if...
what if...
then in the end sometimes you come up with an interesting idea.
"
Oki Sato
Oki Sato shares his perspective on finding inspiration
What if plastic did not exist?
What if new products had to be made with recycled plastic?
What if Nature taught us how to design new materials?
Designers, makers, artists, engineers and researchers have been exploring these questions for years with inspiring results.
7 organizations reimagining plastic
Reimagine sports shoes and clothes
Working with Adidas, Parley for the Oceans takes plastic intercepted from the ocean and turns it into Parley Ocean Plastic®, a high-performance yarn used to make the knitted upper part of running shoes like the famous Ultraboost.
Their impact is huge! The recycled material is now used in gear for tennis, hockey, and other sports across the Adidas lineup. Money from every one of those products directly funds Parley’s mission and its global awareness campaigns, including Parley TV - a gem, filled with stories that about people making a difference for the ocean.
Reimagine skateboards
Discarded fishing nets are 10% of the ocean pollution. Many sea creatures get tangled in abandoned fishing nets, causing serious harm or death. Bureo is the original producer of skateboards using recycled fishing nets. They established a recycling program called Net Positiva in Chile to collect end-of-life fishing nets from coastal communities. Their signature material, NetPlus, is also used by many companies in a wide range of products.
Bureo is on a journey to start a sea change one net at a time
Reimagine backpacks
GOT BAG is the world’s first company reimagining backpacks and other bags made from recycled ocean plastic. They protect the ocean, rethink design and build a global movement.
Reimagine watches
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Turning the pressing issue of pollution into a symbol of hope, I designed a watch you can wear with pride, because it’s materials lived lives and tell stories.
TIDE Watches is a great example of a small company making a big difference. Their mission is to turn trash into hope for our planet and our future — because there is no time to waste.
Reimagine sunglasses
Have you heard of ghost gear?
Harry Dennis did - and it inspired him to reimagine sunglasses
‘Ghost gear’ is fishing equipment like nets, lines and traps that has been abandoned in the ocean. It is made of durable plastic and continues to do what it was designed to do: catch. It becomes a silent, invisible predator, trapping and killing fish, seals, turtles and other marine life for years.
Reimagining the ocean's deadliest trash
Marine biologist Harry Dennis traveled to beaches around the world and everywhere he went he saw bright green strands of ghost gear. He got frustrated and wondered, how could trash be used as a resource?
Harry realized that the very strength and abundance of ghost gear, made it the perfect material to upcycle it into tough, high-quality products like sunglasses.
That's how Waterhaul began, turning one of the ocean's greatest threats into something useful.
Waterhaul
Reimagine phone cases
Almost six billion people around the world use a smartphone, and most of them use a case to protect it. Phone cases are one of the most common products we carry every day, yet most are made from plastic that lasts far longer than our phones.
Wave Case was started by two friends on a mission to turn the tide on plastic pollution. Instead of creating cases from new plastic, they design them using plant-based materials like wheat fibers.
A great idea to reduces plastic waste and reimagine an everyday product in a more planet-friendly way.
Weave Case
Reimagine food packaging
What if we can eat the packaging our food comes in?
Packaged food is easy to grab, but it is often made out of plastic, like plastic wrap and the clear windows that let us see what’s inside. Most of this packaging is used once and then thrown away.
Notpla is reimagining food packaging using seaweed films that disappear naturally. They aren’t made to be eaten, but they break down on their own and reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean.
Reimagine chairs
Many chairs are made with plastic and other heavy materials that are hard to recycle. The ocean inspires designers to reimagine all kinds of chairs — art chairs, office chairs and beach chairs.
Plus 1: reimagine you
Reimagining often starts with a “what if” question. This question often appears when you notice something that could be better. Something frustrates you and you want to change it.
What is it for you?