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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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skateback.jpg



Grove, makers of bamboo cases for iPhones and MacBooks, have introduced a new environmentally friendly add-on for the iPhone 4/4S. The SkateBack uses waste material from a skateboard factory to give a unique -- although not particularly protective -- look to the iPhone. Grove has partnered with MapleXO, a company that makes recycled skateboard jewelry, to make the case.
The SkateBack makes a short journey from raw skateboard waste at skateboard factory PS Stix, to eye-catching ply with Lindsay at Maple XO, to cell phone accessory at Grove. PS Stix owner Paul Schmitt, of Costa Mesa, CA, has been designing and producing skateboards for nearly three decades. A skateboarder himself, his products are known worldwide for their quality, performance, and durability. PS Stix makes more than 4,000 skateboards every day, 200 per hour, almost three per minute! Thanks to Paul and Lindsay, we're repurposing those scraps.
SkateBack comes in three color schemes and are available on Grove's website for $49 each.

Article Link: Grove Introduces iPhone Case Made from Recycled Skateboard Materials
 

jontech

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2010
447
204
Hawaii
I have the Grove cases for the 4s and iPad 3 and they are of the highest quality

Love the recycle idea
 

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Jun 22, 2006
4,516
5,935
The thick of it
I do like the look of the cases (especially "Vibrant"). But they give the iPhone an additional 1/16" of thickness, which doesn't sound like much but I wonder if that would be enough so that it wouldn't fit into some of my accessories. My Speck case is incredibly thin, yet I have to remove it for some accessories. Plus, I'm not keen on having to glue a case to the back of my iPhone.
 

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Cool look. But, are our landfills really overflowing with skateboard scraps?

Our landfills are overflowing with lots of things that add up, and more importantly, making plastic and other materials from scratch takes a lot of energy and causes a lot of pollution. So any time you can make a product (whether useful or decorative) out of waste instead of by drilling/mining/lumbering, that’s a plus!

(The camera/flash holes look a little tight to me. Might cause optical effects?)
 

jmgregory1

macrumors 68030
I went a slightly different direction with my iP4s, although it's currently just the sides. I've wrapped it with a extremely thin, natural cherry, that is just .009" thick, that has a pressure sensitive adhesive on the back.

The wood itself is made using a proprietary process that uses no chemicals or sanding and offers both a unique look and just enough grip to make it easier to hold the phone or pull it out of my pocket. The process for making the wood is so green and efficient that a single log, 15" in diameter by 8' long generates 10,000 square feet of wood. The logs are all hand-selected and sustainably grown and harvested.

All the off-cuts and bark are pelletized and used to fuel a high-efficiency wood fired boiler that heats the building using an in-floor radiant heat system.

I'll do the back as soon as I can create an accurate template.
 

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ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
I'm confused... how does it attach to the iPhone?

Also, someone failed either math, English, or both:
200 per hour, almost three per minute!

200/60 = 3 and 1/3 per minute

"almost", while it doesn't strictly require the number to be less, suggests that it is.

3 and 1/3 is not less than 3
 

Mike84

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
818
135
I'm confused... how does it attach to the iPhone?

Also, someone failed either math, English, or both:


200/60 = 3 and 1/3 per minute

"almost", while it doesn't strictly require the number to be less, suggests that it is.

3 and 1/3 is not less than 3

With a 3M adhesive that is on the plate itself.
 

devilofspades

macrumors member
Jul 20, 2011
76
0
I'm confused... how does it attach to the iPhone?

Also, someone failed either math, English, or both:


200/60 = 3 and 1/3 per minute

"almost", while it doesn't strictly require the number to be less, suggests that it is.

3 and 1/3 is not less than 3

that's your gripe?!? a complaint about a fraction of a number, talk about failing math. 200*24 = 4,800 a far cry from 4,000 relative to the .333 discrepancy of 3 1/3. it's double the percentage of inaccuracy. since you don't seem to keen on math either, that's 10% for .3 and 20% 800 since you didn't pick up on that in the first place....they obviously used 4,000 as the baseline to get "almost 3 a minute". 4000/1440 =2.777...
 
Last edited:

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
that's your gripe?!? a complaint about a fraction of a number, talk about failing math. 200*24 = 4,800 a far cry from 4,000 relative to the .333 discrepancy of 3 1/3. it's double the percentage of inaccuracy. since you don't seem to keen on math either, that's 10% for .3 and 20% 800 since you didn't pick up on that in the first place....they obviously used 4,000 as the baseline to get "almost 3 a minute". 4000/1440 =2.777...

You assume that they're running 24 hours/day.
 

myrtlebee

macrumors 68030
Jul 9, 2011
2,677
2,242
Maryland
A few months ago, I bought a beautiful bamboo case and it dropped from waist height onto the floor and shattered into pieces. They are beautiful, but anyone worried about protection or having an in tact case after a fall should probably go down another route.
 

Exotic-Car Man

macrumors regular
Oct 29, 2010
138
0
USA
that's your gripe?!? a complaint about a fraction of a number, talk about failing math. 200*24 = 4,800 a far cry from 4,000 relative to the .333 discrepancy of 3 1/3. it's double the percentage of inaccuracy. since you don't seem to keen on math either, that's 10% for .3 and 20% 800 since you didn't pick up on that in the first place....they obviously used 4,000 as the baseline to get "almost 3 a minute". 4000/1440 =2.777...
Well that could have been a little more tactful.

I'm confused... how does it attach to the iPhone?

Also, someone failed either math, English, or both:


200/60 = 3 and 1/3 per minute

"almost", while it doesn't strictly require the number to be less, suggests that it is.

3 and 1/3 is not less than 3
You assume that they're running 24 hours/day.
I'm confused by this as well.

4,000 skateboards per day / 200 skateboards per hour = 20 working hours

That still seems a bit high. To check my work,

4,000 skateboards per day / 20 working hours = 200 skateboards per hour
200 skateboards per hour / 60 minutes per hour = 3 1/3 skateboards per minute

Even at 20 working hours, they are still producing over three skateboards per minute. So at what point (how many working hours) do they produce equal to or less than three skateboards per minute? (Note that the 200 skateboards per hour rule must be disobeyed to calculate this.)

4,000 skateboards per day / 21 working hours = 190.47619047619 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.1746031746 skateboards per minute. Nope!

4,000 skateboards per day / 22 working hours = 181.81818181818 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.0303030303. Pretty close to 3!

4,000 skateboards per day / 23 working hours = 173.91304347826 skateboards per hour / 60 = 2.89855072464. Bingo!

Or, to be exact,
3 skateboards per minute * 60 = 180 skateboards per hour
4,0000 skateboards per day / 180 skateboards per hour = 22.22 (repeating 2) working hours per day!

They would have to work over 22 hours a day for them to produce 4,000 skateboards per day at three skateboards per minute. :eek:

This doesn't add up! :confused:
 

laserbeam273

macrumors 6502
Sep 7, 2010
424
0
Australia
Well that could have been a little more tactful.



I'm confused by this as well.

4,000 skateboards per day / 200 skateboards per hour = 20 working hours

That still seems a bit high. To check my work,

4,000 skateboards per day / 20 working hours = 200 skateboards per hour
200 skateboards per hour / 60 minutes per hour = 3 1/3 skateboards per minute

Even at 20 working hours, they are still producing over three skateboards per minute. So at what point (how many working hours) do they produce equal to or less than three skateboards per minute? (Note that the 200 skateboards per hour rule must be disobeyed to calculate this.)

4,000 skateboards per day / 21 working hours = 190.47619047619 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.1746031746 skateboards per minute. Nope!

4,000 skateboards per day / 22 working hours = 181.81818181818 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.0303030303. Pretty close to 3!

4,000 skateboards per day / 23 working hours = 173.91304347826 skateboards per hour / 60 = 2.89855072464. Bingo!

Or, to be exact,
3 skateboards per minute * 60 = 180 skateboards per hour
4,0000 skateboards per day / 180 skateboards per hour = 22.22 (repeating 2) working hours per day!

They would have to work over 22 hours a day for them to produce 4,000 skateboards per day at three skateboards per minute. :eek:

This doesn't add up! :confused:

Haha how on earth has a post about skateboard cases attracted so much maths. Brilliant.
 

devilofspades

macrumors member
Jul 20, 2011
76
0
Well that could have been a little more tactful.
:

you're right, but the way the original post was stated it warranted it. slamming someone over such minor verbiage just seemed silly. especially considering overlooking more relevant math "errors".

the bottom line is, these guys aren't making one skateboard at a time and don't work 20+ hours. these guys probably bang out around 400 or so ever half hour for maybe like 5 hours and then go home. the numbers are an overall average, and doesn't need to be nit picked. don't forget, these guys are skaters not apple factory workers. they are probably doing kick flips and playing playstation most of the day waiting for the glue to dry.
 

Rocko1

macrumors 68020
Nov 3, 2011
2,070
4
Oh that won't impact the flash whatsoever..........:confused:

----------

Our landfills are overflowing with lots of things that add up, and more importantly, making plastic and other materials from scratch takes a lot of energy and causes a lot of pollution. So any time you can make a product (whether useful or decorative) out of waste instead of by drilling/mining/lumbering, that’s a plus!

(The camera/flash holes look a little tight to me. Might cause optical effects?)

Actually it's been established that it costs more-labor and material- to recycle and reuse plastic than to start off with raw clean material.
 

antman2295

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2010
366
1
What I love is they are taking scraps of skateboards, sawing them down, slapping some "glue" on them, and then selling them for $49 each... Wow I love the mark up on cases...
 

foodog

macrumors 6502a
Sep 6, 2006
911
43
Atlanta, GA
This is one of those things that just makes me think......Why???

----------

Oh that won't impact the flash whatsoever..........:confused:

----------



Actually it's been established that it costs more-labor and material- to recycle and reuse plastic than to start off with raw clean material.

True but I think the real reason to recycle plastic is it is made from a finite material, and the fact plastic lasts for a really really long time. This is changing with plant based plastics.

----------

Well that could have been a little more tactful.



I'm confused by this as well.

4,000 skateboards per day / 200 skateboards per hour = 20 working hours

That still seems a bit high. To check my work,

4,000 skateboards per day / 20 working hours = 200 skateboards per hour
200 skateboards per hour / 60 minutes per hour = 3 1/3 skateboards per minute

Even at 20 working hours, they are still producing over three skateboards per minute. So at what point (how many working hours) do they produce equal to or less than three skateboards per minute? (Note that the 200 skateboards per hour rule must be disobeyed to calculate this.)

4,000 skateboards per day / 21 working hours = 190.47619047619 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.1746031746 skateboards per minute. Nope!

4,000 skateboards per day / 22 working hours = 181.81818181818 skateboards per hour / 60 = 3.0303030303. Pretty close to 3!

4,000 skateboards per day / 23 working hours = 173.91304347826 skateboards per hour / 60 = 2.89855072464. Bingo!

Or, to be exact,
3 skateboards per minute * 60 = 180 skateboards per hour
4,0000 skateboards per day / 180 skateboards per hour = 22.22 (repeating 2) working hours per day!

They would have to work over 22 hours a day for them to produce 4,000 skateboards per day at three skateboards per minute. :eek:

This doesn't add up! :confused:

WOW! You need a girlfriend :rolleyes:
 
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