Overview
Crowdfunding is a relatively new concept, but it's also been pretty controversial, especially after big-name artists started using it to fund albums (Amanda Palmer and Eskimo Joe, anyone?). But it's also being used as a starting point for some great ideas and inventions that may not have ever become a reality otherwise.
In 2012, cycling enthusiast Izhar Gafni invented a bicycle made out of recycled cardboard, rubber and plastic — the total cost of the materials coming to just $9. Now, Gafni has launched a $2 million Indiegogo campaign to take the project to the next level, which would involve mass producing the bike with the ultimate aim of making it affordable and widely available to people all over the world. Gafni describes the technology behind the bike as 'game changing' and thinks it could be the start of a 'green revolution'.
On his Indiegogo page, Gafni says that the bike "means that children in under-developed countries can have access to these bikes to get to school, and their parents can get to work" and "the funds we raise will allow us to establish the first cardboard bicycle production line, thereby creating jobs, affordable transportation and a cleaner environment. For the people, by the people."
Via PSFK.