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Things We Love: Solar Panels Go Couture

Solar Shirt - Wearable Solar

How many times has your phone died while you’re out and about? Annoying right? Well that may be now a thing of the past thanks to the Solar Shirt designed by Pauline van Dongen in collaboration with Holst Centre.

The Solar Shirt is the latest design in the Wearable Solar collection where sun-powered garments seek to seamlessly integrate technology and fashion.

Solar power is an “intelligent and cautious way” to use the plant’s resources, van Dongen says. “We’re becoming more and more depending on connectivity. Therefore a smart garment, augmented with solar cells that can harvest energy, is an ideal solution when we find ourselves in an off-grid situation.”

The stretchable – not to mention washable – Solar Shirt incorporates 120 flexible solar cells, enough to restore a typical smartphone’s charge by 50% after an hour’s exposure in the full sun. But smartphones aren’t the only things the Solar Shirt can keep running. The garments can also charge MP3 players, cameras, GPS units and any other USB-compatible portable device. Plus, any excess electricity can be stored in the shirt’s battery pack for later use.

Not only will you look slick, but you’ll never again have to experience the annoyance of a dead phone. We love it.

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