4 things a week: a bloody breakthrough

I never thought I'd be writing about sand shortages, suitcases, periods and childhood museums in the same article. But hey - it's my 4 things a week.

1. World

When you think of conflict minerals, you wouldn’t think of sand. Diamonds or cobalt maybe, but not sand. The second most used resource on the planet after water, the demand for sand is insatiable and set to rise by 45% as we approach 2060. China alone has used more construction sand in the last few years than the United States used in the entire 20th century. Singapore is the worlds largest importer of the resource, and countries that were more than ready to feed that demand, until exports of were banned in 2018, were Cambodia and Vietnam. However, booming construction industries in both countries have motivated dredgers, many operating illegally, to continue pulling huge amounts of sand from the Mekong river causing devastating ecological damage affecting the homes and livelihoods of those living on its banks. As the sand gets removed, the river flows faster, causing even more erosion to the banks.?

As of 2021 there were erosions along riverbanks in the Mekong Delta totalling 610km in length, washing away thousands of homes and forcing 20,000+ people to relocate. To put it into context, around 7 million tons of sand gets deposited in the Mekong Delta each year, yet over 40 million tons are being extracted. At this rate there will be no sand left in the Mekong in 10 years time.?

Unfortunately this story is playing out in many areas of South Asia where enforcing regulation on the extraction of natural resources is proving impossible and the attitude from those in the business is just to make as much money as fast as possible until the sand, quite literally, runs out.

2. Innovation

Scientists experimenting on ways to create leak free period products have found a possible solution. By adding a powdered alginate (made from seaweed) to a pad they have found a way to turn liquid menses into a gel that would stay within the pad and significantly reduce the likelihood of leaks. The same powdered alginate captured within a small cotton tube becomes the perfect menstrual cup liner, gelling the collected blood and making removal of the cup easier and less messy. We hear of plenty of uses of algae based materials, but improving period products was not one that I could have predicted. But I’m all here for it.

3. Morrama

I teased this project a couple of weeks ago, but here it is in full. The TELA 40 suitcase designed for Italian travel brand Phoenix, founded by artist and traveller Francesco Salom. TELA means canvas in Italian and so we set out to create a suitcase that is both a literal canvas and a representation of the memories we capture as we travel to new places. Each suitcase features a front face with a continuous frame design, acting as a blank slate for future artist collaborations and allowing for endless customisation possibilities. The wide trolley handle sits seamlessly within the frame, presenting a striking symmetry when viewed from all angles and can be easily removed for repair with four bolts. In fact the whole case was designed for disassembly and recycled materials were used wherever possible, including a 30% recycled shell and 100% recycled nylon internals.?

Read more about the design process here: https://www.morrama.com/projects/phoenix-tela

4. Inspiration

OK it’s supposed to be for kids, but it’s honestly such a great museum. I’m of course talking about the Young V&A which reopened last year transformed from a museum of childhood into a museum “for children”. Setting out to be the most ‘joyful museum in the world’, they have just been awarded the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award. I’m in my 30s but I still love going and if any of you are thinking of visiting - you must check out The Shed where the current resident design team are our partners at Batch.Works . There you can see how our Kibu headphones are made and enter into a competition to win a pair.?

Click here more info about visiting times.

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P.s. Just incase you got to the end of this and aren't sure who I am, I'm:

• an industrial designer (I design and engineer physical objects)
• founder of Morrama | Certified B Corp
• former tutor of Design Futures at the Royal College of Art
• co-instigator of Design Declares