A great example of innovation by Taylor Guitars
Not directly technology related, but more inspiration to do something similar in other industries.
This is a great example of innovation can arise simply by ignoring common practices. What we now call 'conventional wisdom' are principles formed so long ago that many of them are now incorrect in their core principals, and with the ways that the planet is changing, it is important to adapt business practices to these changes.
Cutting out waste by ignoring these practices is a great way to be more eco-friendly and make more money (in some cases, both).
If you can't watch the video, a quick synopsis.
Ebony is a wood used widely in building Guitars and some other musical instruments, however due to over-farming in many countries, the only place left with enough Ebony to harvest is Cameroon. Taylor guitars owns the company which has the licence to harvest 75% of Cameroon's (and now the World's) supply of Ebony, effectively giving them a massive amount of control over the market (I believe they are the biggest supplier of Ebony at this point in time).
Bob Taylor (owner of Taylor Guitars) discovered that to find one tree worth of 'A-Grade' wood, 20 trees had to be chopped and left to biodegrade in the forest. He also discovered that the only difference between the A and B grade wood is slight colouration, as opposed to the deep, jet black we're all used to in Ebony, but there are no functional differences.
In response to this he began to pay lumberjacks the same amount for B grade wood as A grade, selling at the same price, effectively ignoring the grading system.
The result is that my next guitar might have a vanilla streak in the fretboard, but it also reduced the amount of wood used to create it 20 fold, and that's something I can live with.