DoCoMo unveiled a very nice pair of a few days ago. The prototypes developed by Sharp and Olympus are made from cypress trees that have been selectively cut from ecologically sustainable forests. The product, sweetly named ¡°Touch Wood,¡± is part of the that was started by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto back in 2007. The campaign is aimed at maintaining and replanting forest in Japan.

With the rise of the , not to mention increased public concern for the environment, we can see more natural products coming out of the woodwork. Here¡¯s a few that are already available:

  • More trees is also behind a nice . It might be saving the environment but at ?6,825 you won¡¯t be saving your pennies.
  • Nippon Style Project make a that hopefully doesn¡¯t warp if you spill your coffee over it.
  • While have been around for a few years, we dig this one is from designer Koji Iwasaki.
  • Lastly and possibly the most obvious candidate for a wood finish is the .
While it¡¯d be nice if there were more products out there that cut down on plastic in favor of more sustainable materials, you still have to bear in mind that the core workings of all these products are going to end up in landfill sites. But for now, we¡¯re quite taken with the lovely wooden sheen of DoCoMo¡¯s phones and are looking forward to seeing them on display Oct. 6-10 at the CEATEC 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 2009 at Makuhari Messe.