From time immemorial, parents have lamented how quickly their children outgrow their clothing and shoes. This is now also true in regards to technologies designed for kids, with enormous amounts of waste being produced from the disposal of outgrown tech. Kibu headphones, designed by design consultancy Morrama in partnership with circular manufacturing company Batch.Works, offer an answer: audio gear designed to be assembled and customized by its eventual youthful user, while also being thoughtfully conceived to be repairable and recyclable throughout its circular lifespan.
Each pair is 3D printed on-demand and in custom colors using recycled PLA from packaging waste sourced from the agricultural industry and topped off with a comfortably plush TPU headband and foam ear cups sized for children.
This project is the result of both Batch.Works and Morrama’s drive to shift the consumer mindset around product circularity and repairability at end-of-life. By starting with kids’ products, we hope to set the next generation on a path to better understanding and appreciating the objects they use and interact with and do so in a playful and engaging way.
– Jo Barnard, Founder and Creative Director of Morrama
Like toys or any accessory used by children regularly, damage is always a looming possibility. To address this reality, plastic parts of the Kibu can be sent back to its manufacturer Batch.Works to be reduced down to its original polymer pieces to be eventually reused to make new headphones again. Similarly, the electronic componentry within is designed to be easily disassembled, and offer easier access to the core precious metals within.
Batch.Works’ head of R&D Milo McLoughlin-Greening considers the circular design of Kibu not just prototypical of the future of manufacturing, but a means of communicating to a younger generation the possibilities of engineering products where technology is not considered a disposable commodity nor presented with a juvenile design.
Kibu’s intended demographic are children ranging from five to eleven years old.
Kibu’s repairable and recyclable headphones are scheduled to be launched later this year with options and pricing yet to be released.
