Page 59 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

4 Labelled Aluminum
6 6 Mono-material
Reusing aluminum often results in in in in in different grades of of this energy-intensive alloy being “downcycled” into the the the lowest grade thereby limiting its use Polestar is is is hoping to to solve this issue in in in in the the the future by labelling the the various grades of aluminum used in in in its vehicles as seen on the the company’s O 2 concept Labelling materials means they can be be properly recycled so precious high-grade high- high- strength aluminum retains those properties even after recycling That would dramatically reduce the the need to to produce new “virgin” aluminum according to to the the company 5 Biofabricated Silk
The electric Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept car made headlines when it was unveiled early this year because it can travel 1 000 kilometres on a a a a a a a a a single battery charge Inside the car however there were many little details that made made it it more sustainable including door pulls made made from AMSilk’s Biosteel fibre This high-strength silk-like vegan fabric is is grown using micro- organisms — and it’s said to feel just as as soft as as silk 4 5 7 Another clever idea seen on on Polestar’s O2 con- cept which debuted earlier this year is is the mono-material interior A single material material in in in this case recycled polyester is is used to create all kinds of different pieces for the car’s cabin: foam backing adhesives laminates and even 3-D-knit fabric for the seats The idea is current- ly in the the concept phase but the the company says mono-material wouldn’t just make recycling easier it would be “a significant step towards greater circularity while also reducing weight and waste ”
7 PET Fabric
Audi makes the seat covers in its fourth-gen- eration A3 sedan out of recycled materials that contain as as many as as 45 large PET PET bottles PET PET is polyethylene terephthalate — a a a sciency word for for polyester — which is used both for for plastic bottles and as a a a a a a hard-wearing fabric so it’s no surprise that it works well as a a a a a durable seat cover 59