A British-designed cardboard vacuum cleaner, produced by Vax, the UK’s best-selling floor care brand, has reached the final cut of the 2012 International Design Excellence Awards. The ev is the brainchild of Jake Tyler, an upcoming young British designer, who developed the vacuum cleaner while studying Industrial Design at Loughborough University. After working at Vax’s design labs in Worcestershire on a year’s placement, Jake collaborated with the company for his final year project, which focused on reducing waste by making vacuum cleaners more sustainable. Since graduating with a first class honours degree in 2011, he has joined the team at Vax as a full time engineer.
“Every year around 100 million tonnes of waste is put into landfill in the UK and we’re running out of space to put it all. So we need to find new ways to make the consumer goods we need, without creating so much waste, ” said Jake.
“The Vax ev is a fully functioning, high powered vacuum cleaner but, as it’s made from recycled and recyclable materials, it’s totally sustainable too.”
Using corrugated cardboard means nothing is wasted, as the Vax ev’s flame-retardant panels start their life as part of the retail box it’s sold in. They just ‘pop’ into place around the motor housing, without any need for glue. The panels cost just a tenth of the price of plastic and can easily be replaced if they get damaged. They can also be customised using nothing more than a pack of felt-tip pens.
The Vax ev is currently a fully functioning prototype. Vax is now exploring a limited production run in Europe and investing further R&D in sustainable product technologies. For more information visit www.cardboardvax.com
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