Coffee grounds. Seaweed. Soda bottles. X-Rays. Pineapples. Seem like they have nothing in common? Well, y0u’re wrong. In fact, this little list of items happens to be the exact list of newly discovered recyclables that are being used to create clothing. No joke, these objects are being recycled and turned into fabric.

The fabric created using pineapple is appropriately called Pina Fiber. The threads are derived from the leaves of the pineapple plant, usually grown in the Philippines. The process of handcrafting this fabric is shown above, as it is often created as such in the Philippines and Indonesia. The textile produced is described as soft and luxurious and is being used by fashion designers across the globe.

The next item on the list is surprisingly, x-rays. Yes, the same X-rays that confirm your broken bones are now being worn as the latest fashion statement. Playback Clothing is launching a line of x-ray recycled t-shirts that are made by mixing the x-rays with recycled cotton material resulting in an array of colors. Playback also recycles old soda bottles to make hoodies and t-shirts. However, what differentiates this company from others is the use of dye is completely eliminated in the process, using the original colors from the soda bottles. Thus, hues such as “Beer Bottle Brown” are featured in the line. Now you can have your beer and wear it too!

Another odd resource being put to new use, is coffee grounds. “S Cafe” is a fabric being created in the Taiwan based company Singtex Industries by using waste coffee grounds. That old cup of joe you drink every morning can yield as much as two shirts.

Seacell is, yes, you guessed it, fabric made from seaweed. Seacell is made by combining cellulose with a small percentage of seaweed. The fabric has even been claimed to have therapeutic assets as well, however, that rumor is yet to be proven. Nonetheless, this kelpy innovation is still more than welcome in the textile industry.

Altogether it looks like cotton might be getting a little competition with these alternatives. We’re just excited to see what’s next.

Now, we thought we had seen it all, but apparently we were just getting started. We’ve seen floating cities, cloud making yachts, even artificial CO2 absorbing “trees”, but this one really takes the cake. The  newest energy solution: the “Luna Ring”, a solar belt around the moon. Yes, that’s right, Shimizu Construction has devised a plan to place a ring around the moon, literally beaming the energy right back to Earth.

The belt is planned to span across the entire lunar equator, being around 11,000 km long and around 400 km wide. The power would be transferred back to earth via microwave power transmission antennas and laser power transmission facilities. These power transmission facilities would be on the near side of the moon, (the side that always faces earth) while the side facing the sun would be absorbing solar power. Finally, a radio beacon would ensure the safe voyage of this power and guide it to the receptors on Earth.

If just the concept alone blows your mind, wait until you hear the building process. The building of this giant structure would be done by robots, being controlled 24 hours a day by operators on Earth. Along with the robots, there would also be a group of astronaut supervisors. The machines and equipment would be ever so conveniently, assembled in space and then land on the moon to begin the building process. Sound simple? We didn’t think so either.

The process, funds, and amount of work needed to build something like this, even we will admit, is a little too far fetched. While we can appreciate the innovative nature of Shimizu, and their ability to shock us all with their “out there” ideas for solutions to the current crisis our planet is in, we definitely don’t think the moon will be sporting a belt any time soon.