Farm from a Box is a modified shipping container with a built-in WiFi, irrigation system, solar panels, weather tracking devices, batteries and more. Photo credit: Farm from a Box
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EcoWatch featured many innovative products this year that help consumers reduce their impact on the Earth. Here are the top 10 coolest eco products of 2015:
1. Solar-Powered Beach Mat
Powered by a five-watt solar panel and a built-in thermal fridge, the Beachill waterproof mat lets beach-goers keep their drinks cold and their portable devices charged while making minimal impact on the environment.
Related Article: New Recirculating Shower Saves 80% of the Energy & 90% of the Water For Eco-Friendly Luxury
2. Athletic Shoes Made From Ocean Waste
The athletic clothing company Adidas announced the concept for a shoe wherein the upper part is made with ocean plastic and the midsole is 3D-printed using recycled polyester and gillnets, a wall of netting used to catch fish. The concept was unveiled in conjunction with the COP21Paris climate talks. A company spokesperson said there’s no timeline for when the shoe will be mass-produced.
However, another one of their concept shoes, which contains yarns and filaments reclaimed from ocean waste and illegal deep-sea gillnets, will be available for purchase in select stores in April 2016.
3. Solar-Powered “Farm From a Box”
Farm from a Box is a complete, small-scale farming toolkit that includes everything you need to produce your own food.
Each box comes in 10-, 20- and 40-foot units and includes a photovoltaic system, off-grid inverter, a transformer and distribution box, and deep-cycle batteries for energy storage. The array is backed up by a 3,000-watt generator.
Related Article: Brazil Shopping Mall Recycles Their Food Waste into Thriving Rooftop Garden for Employees
The kit is equipped with high-efficiency LED lighting, secured storage, a mobile charging area, Wi-Fi and a remote monitoring solution. Oh, and seeds and farming tools of course. Each unit is capable of producing crops for one hectare of land (about 2.47 acres).
4. Electric Bike That Folds Into a Backpack
At 26 pounds, the A-Bike Electric claims to be the lightest and most compact e-bike in the world. With its tiny wheels and a battery that’s the size of a thermos, the bike is so small it can tuck inside a backpack or under a desk.
With lazy commuters in mind, this updated version to the non-electric A-Bike simply adds a motor in the front wheel and a 24-volt battery. Although it’s small and light, the electric bike is made with aircraft-grade aluminum and high-strength glass-reinforced polymers. The designers also claim that the bike can fold in 10 seconds.
5. Indoor Vegetable Garden
The Grove Ecosystem allows you to grow fresh lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and even raise fish—right from home. Designed and built by engineers from MIT, this cabinet-sized indoor garden has LED lighting to induce photosynthesis so that the plants do not need exposure to the sun, much like the way many indoor vertical farms are designed.
The WiFi-enabled system has its own Grove OS mobile app so you can track growth and tinker with settings such as water levels, temperatures, lighting, microbe levels and more. And yes, this means you don’t have to worry about your system while you’re away from home.
Related Article: 10 Ways To Make Your Kitchen More Green
The app also helps you optimize the conditions for whatever you choose to grow. If, for example, you’re growing cherry tomatoes, it recommends the best ways to promote growth, such as proper temperatures and water needs.
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Very cool!
Vegetable garden’s are what we need the most. Then water filters and renewable energy free energy. Then everything’s good.
Brad Strategy