The quite awesome Core77 industrial design blog held The Greener Gadgets Design Competition this month as part of the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City.

I almost majored in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute during my college days (I wound up majoring in Painting), so I have always been appreciative of elegantly designed everyday objects. These designs take things a step further, because they are made to be sustainable and eco-conscious from the ground up.

Check out the Krank LED lamp entry, which received the honor of being a notable mention in the competition. You crank the stem of the lamp to generate 40-60 minutes of light.

The Bamboo is a bio-degradable mobile phone case. It's made from bio-plastic (corn) and bamboo (wood).

Check out the competition site to see all the forward-thinking and elegant designs.