8 Bizarre Ideas You Wont Believe The World Tried to Pass off as ‘Sustainable’

There have been some remarkable eco-friendly innovations. But many products are 'greenwashed' for the sake of it.

September 2, 2020

Over the years, there have been some remarkable eco-friendly and sustainable innovations. But, the human mind works in mysterious and bizarre ways. With scores of innovators — professional and amateurs — trying to come up with new things, there are bound to be several flops.

Although we truly appreciate the effort and the thought that has gone into saving the planet, we couldn’t help but notice how some people just somehow missed the point.

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1. Organic Toilet Paper

This picture of a couple of leaves packed in a Ziploc bag with the tag ‘organic toilet paper’ was first found on Facebook’s market place in March. This was the time that several countries experienced a severe shortage of toilet paper as a result of panic shopping during the first few months of the pandemic. Priced at $10, this picture did it rounds on WhatsApp groups across the world and is sure to have left several Indians in splits!

2. A Green Potty For Pets

Here’s a portable patch of grass which is available with or without wheels for your pets to do their business at home! Equipped with its very own concealed drainage system, this innovation is aimed at customers who wanted to keep their lawns and the environment clean. Confused? So are we. Seems like the innovators clearly forgot the number of resources that would go into the making of the product.

3. Eco Button That Saves Energy

Do you realise the amount of energy that your computer uses up while you’re not using it? Well, there’s a solution. And no, apparently it’s not the sleep button. This eco button connected to your computer will automatically send your computer into sleep mode when you press it. *Slow claps.*

4. The Solar Powered Fan Cap

Among these ‘innovations’, this one is sort of self-explanatory. The top part of the cap has a solar panel which connects to a tiny plastic fan that points to the forehead. Sadly, this does not benefit the environment in any way and the same amount of cooling can probably be produced with a simple newspaper or a magazine which would have been a better alternative.

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5. A Sustainable Spiky Solution

This eco-friendly shower curtain will detect if your shower’s gone over the given time limit and will inflate into spikes, trapping you in plastic. Elisabeth Buecher, the designer of the curtain thought that it would be a ‘gorgeous and disturbing’ way to make people aware of their water consumption levels. Well, we’re not sure about gorgeous but it’s a big yes for bizarre and disturbing!

6. A Solar-Powered Bikini

When you’re wearing a solar-powered bikini, your phone can stay charged throughout your day at the beach and you won’t have to worry about your battery dying. Although this is not exactly a silly innovation, it is quite bizarre.

7. A Moss Carpet For Your Bathroom

This bathroom mat is made up of three kinds of moss – forest moss, island moss and ball moss that grow in latex-free foam. And since moss is prone to grow in a humid and damp environment, your bathroom is the perfect place for it! And here we are trying to get rid of it. What were we thinking of, right?

8. Sinking Fish

Here’s a sink that comes with a goldfish bowl. That’s right. When you drain water from the tap, the fish will have less water to swim in, forcing the user to consume less water.

The water never drains out completely and returns to the normal level when the tap is off. This may be perceived as a smart innovation, but do we really have to go that far to save water is the bigger question.

Have you come across such quirky innovations? If so, do share with us. We all love a good laugh!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)