Silo by Giro: The Helmet With Minimal Environmental Impact

Have you ever wondered what happens to old crash helmets when they are damaged or thrown away? Giro did, and they came up with the Silo Helmet as a result.

Instead of chucking plastic helmets onto the scrap heap and adding to the already huge amounts of landfill waste, Giro decided to make an environmentally conscious helmet. For starters, the foam lining is made from a material derived from corn, known as Expanded Polyactic Acid (E-PLA), which is just as good at shock absorption but less harsh on the environment.

Others components of the helmet are also manufactured to reduce their environmental impact, using fewer non-renewable resources and offering the opportunity to recycle individual components after use. The bio-foam liner and straps can be put out to compost, while the other components can be recycled.

Giro spent a huge amount of money researching materials which are environmentally friendly without compromising performance. After all, it’s no good having a compostable helmet which doesn’t fulfil its primary function of protecting your head in case of an accident, and Giro has tested the helmet exhaustively to ensure its performance.

By making a more environmentally-friendly helmet, Giro offers cyclists an ethical choice when it comes to head protection, and innovation need not come at a high cost to the consumer. The Silo will cost $50 when it goes on sale early in 2016.