Think of your child’s headphones, and you’ll probably imagine something decorated with their favorite cartoon character or toy – or maybe something made of single-use plastic with cat ears or a unicorn horn.
Not so here. With the power to fix the movement in glorious dominance (see this modular, repairable concept, beautifully realized in Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Theater for starters and Fairphone’s Fairbuds XL for starters), it’s important to bring the next generation on board with sustainability . Innovation consultancy Morrama has partnered with manufacturing company Batch.Works for circular manufacturing to do this Kibu.
This is a pair of headphones designed to be folded and customized by kids, with every component replaceable and recyclable, and made from recycled materials.
And that’s fine until I mention two things: first, I’m a fully grown person, and second, I want a pair. These might be some of the best headphones I’ve seen in ages.
The new venture was created as a positive educational tool for both children and parents to reflect on the environmental impact of headphones that you can build, repair and recycle yourself – so there is hope for me even though I’m not a parent yet.
And there’s another noble cause: with headphones, Kibu Morrama and Batch.Works want to show that local production of tech products can be possible and transparent – and that sustainability can be achieved without sacrificing beautiful design or user experience.
Comment: Your child will learn only good lessons from these beautiful headphones – including the love of music
The Kibu headphones will be manufactured by Batch.Works in Hackney, London, from recycled PLA made from packaging waste from the agricultural industry using a unique fused deposition modeling method developed by a circular manufacturing start-up.
And perhaps best of all, since each pair is printed on demand, kids (or, um, whoever) can customize the various components with a range of beautiful colors to choose from. Studio Don’s Kibu headphones are nothing but fun. Inspired by the printing technique itself, the headphones are wired and adjustable, with a soft TPU headband and foam ear cushions.
If any parts of the headphones are damaged or need to be adjusted as your child grows, the plastic parts can be sent back to Batch.Works, sanded down and made into new pairs of headphones. Circuit boards are made of something called Soluboard, a unique material that allows electronics to be easily disassembled and recycled, increasing the efficiency of precious metal recovery and reducing environmental damage in the process.
Although the headphones are the first in the Kibu product line, the partners state that they will not be the last. And when they look this good, I should certainly hope not. I want to have them, but I also want to give them to my child so that they discover a new life love for music or dance.
Oh, I’m afraid I’m still waiting for a quote. But I am Very interested to know – and will promptly update this article when I get a final price.
Until then, know that Kibu is currently in user testing to tweak and refine the final design ahead of its release later this year. Customers can register their interest in pre-ordering a pair at https://www.batch.works/kibu to stay informed about the official launch.