Grass iPhones: A Green Trend In More Ways Than One

 Grass roots, blades of grass, grass skirts and even snakes and splendor in the grass all refer to nature and that green substance many of us have growing outside our front doors. But now grass on lawns and other places (metaphorically and otherwise) has taken on a new identity that has transformed it to the status of being green in more ways than one. Design Works has developed an iPhone made with blades of grass as the major component.

Grass iPhone: Source: DesignBoom

Who created this special iPhone?

Sean Miles is the desgner responsible for this innovative gadget and he believes his is the first cell phone ever to be made from 100% natural and recycled materials. .It was a project commissioned by O2 Recycle, a division of the telecommunication company that promotes recycling. Bearing in mind that the major complaint of smart phone owners is that they all look alike, no one on your block is liekly to have a grass mobile phone and you can be the very first.

Grass Mobile Phone: Source:Design Boom

What is O2 Recycle?

O2 Recycle is an English company open to everyone who is dedicated to promoting responsible recycling and has a passion for rugby. The company raises funds for Think Big, which helps to turn around the lives of young people. To date, they have raised over £3 million, which has positively impacted more that 750,000 lives.

In the words of Bill Eyres, head of sutainability at 02:  "By creating this cell phone we are demonstrating how...rugby and O2 Recycle can come together as a force for good. O2 recycle offers a simple, sustainable way to recycle cell phones and ubused gadgets and receive a cash payment in return while at the same time backing a great cause and recycling for rugby. We...have pledged to support the RFU's "try for change" social responsibility program, which is aimed at promoting rugby as a powerful tool for social change."

How is this Phone made?

The smooth and eco-friendly casing that comprises this unique iPhone  is made entirely from grass that is cast into a mold with recycled resin and then baked for 24 hours. According to designer, Sean Miles: "This creates a composite material, like carbon fiber, which can be used as an alternative to plastic injection moulding."

Design Works Grass iPhone: Source: dailyStar.co.uk

Manufacturing methods for this iPhone are not for the impatient. It took over 240 hours to comb through thousands and thousands of blades of grass and locally sourced wood to be used for the buttons. The next three phases involved freeze-drying the cuttings, pushing them through a pulping process and molding them into a template. Once inside the casing, the inner mechanisms are protected by covering the grass clippings with an eco-friendly resin made from waste materials that hardens and bonds them together.

The future of the grass iPhone

Due to the positive reaction to the prototype, Design Works is currently considering the possibiity of mass-producing the grass iPhone for home use. Designed exclusively to make people rethink recycling in heretofore unexpected ways, grass as an industrial material symbolizes  natural resourceshat are utilized in a new and different way.

In tehw rods of Bill Eyres, head os sustainabiity 

Closing thoughts on mobile phones:

 Cell phones are so convenient that they're an inconvenience. ~ Haruki Murakami