Paper is flimsy. We don’t build with it, or fight with it, and we certainly don’t use it to protect ourselves—right?
Designer Isis Shiffer thinks there’s more to repurposed pulp than we’ve given it credit for, especially with regard to cycling safety. Shiffer, a graduate of the Pratt School of Design in New York City, recently won the 2016 International James Dyson Award for design innovation by designing a paper bike helmet that not only is claimed to be as protective as a traditional styrofoam-padded helmet, but also is collapsible and recyclable, all for less than $5 (AU$6.60).
Shiffer is putting her $45,000 (AU$60,000) winnings toward refining the EcoHelmet design concept. Made from layers of 100-percent-recycled paper, the EcoHelmet is composed of a unique radial honeycomb pattern that allows it to retain stiffness while in use, but collapse accordion-style when taken off for easy storage.
“This [honeycomb] structure distributes any impact evenly around the head as effectively as a traditional polystyrene helmet, and the radial nature of the cells protects the user from a blow coming from any direction,” Shiffer says. She gained access to a crash-test lab set up for European safety standards while studying abroad at Imperial College in London, and was able to gather enough data herself to support the safety claims. (EcoHelmet hasn’t been tested against American CPSC helmet-safety standards yet.)
As strong as the helmet is, it’s not necessarily a replacement for your regular road or mountain helmet. Its waterproof coating is only rated for up to three hours, and it deteriorates with wear. But enthusiasts aren’t Shiffer’s target demographic.
“It is designed to work in conjunction with bike-share systems and be recycled when it is no longer needed,” she says.
Shiffer hopes that the budget-friendly EcoHelmet takes off with bike-share users, who frequently ride bare-headed, by becoming available at bike-share station kiosks. Some bike-share systems in US cities with mandatory helmet laws, like Seattle, offer helmet rentals—but the complicated hurdles of cost, liability, and hygiene (eek) mean most bike-share systems haven’t delved into helmet rental programs. With the single-user EcoHelmet, commuters who don’t own helmets of their own can purchase low-cost, environmentally sound, safe helmets wherever they might pick up a bike-share bike.
“EcoHelmet solves an obvious problem in an incredibly elegant way,” inventor James Dyson said in the Award’s press release.
If you’re a regular errand-runner or commuter who hates lugging a helmet around the store or the office, know that the helmet is being tested for CPSC certification and is slated to make it to market in just a few months.
Copyright © 2016 Rodale Inc.