When news of a $10 bicycle made of recycled cardboard first reached our desk, we didn’t think it would ever see the light of day, but in two days, Cardboard Technologies has already raised a whopping $16,070 on its Indiegogo campaign to mass produce what Popular Science Magazine called one of the best inventions of 2013.
Designed by Israeli inventor Izhar Gafni, the bicycle is made with recycled cardboard mixed with recycled plastic bottles and used car tires.
It can carry up to 400 pounds, doesn’t crumble in the rain, and doesn’t melt in fire.
“Basically the idea is like Japanese origami, but we don’t compress the cardboard and we don’t break its structure,” he explained in a press release.
“We overcome the cardboard’s failure points, by spreading out the weight to create durability.”
Despite having received a host of investment offers, the company opted to crowdfund the project instead in order to stay faithful to their social values.
Ultimately, the project is about reusing waste materials and making cycling an affordable activity for everyone.
But this will be no easy task.
In just 45 days, the team hopes to raise a whopping $2 million in order to set up a factory that will allow them to crank out thousands of these suckers, cleaning up landfills and recycling centers all the while.
They have also developed a cardboard wheelchair that will eventually be distributed to people throughout Africa who can’t afford a standard one.
And for just $290, you can own one of the very first to come off the production line, and feel good knowing that your contribution has ushered in a brave new world of cardboard bicycles.
Visit Cardboard Technologies’ Indiegogo campaign if you want a piece of this very cool green action
Read more about cardboard design:
- The $9 Cardboard Bike From Israel: Photos
- Cardboard Mounted Deer Heads for the Eco-Conscious Decorator
- Sanserif Creatius Carves a Cardboard Table with Arabic Devotion
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
It seems as though the promise of making this bike cheap was no more than that. Read the FastCo article:
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682407/the-cardboard-bike-becomes-real-but-its-no-longer-cheap#1