This RagCutter was invented by Jock Mathewson, a New-Zealand-based paint and panel shop owner. Paint businesses go through a lot of rags--Mathewson regularly buys them in 20kg (44 lb) bags—and Mathewson sought to cut down on waste. "[The rags] are expensive and usually too big," he explains. When his workers use rags to wipe away a small amount of paint, they must throw the entire rag out, even though most of it is clean, to avoid ruining the next thing they wipe. "So I thought there must be an easy way to cut these rags into usable sizes and stop creating so much waste."

Mathewson and his employees brainstormed, then made mock-ups from cardboard, wood, and eventually 3D-printed plastic to develop the RagCutter. It takes a standard razor blade, which lasts a long time; Mathewson says the first working prototype is still in use in his shop, with its original blade.

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Convinced other rag-using businesses could benefit from the tool, Mathewson sourced a local plastics manufacturer and managed to get it into production.

The RagCutter comes in a high-visibility (and recyclable) orange plastic, but for the more eco-minded, there's also a version made from recycled plastic (which is therefore black). Both run USD $30 retail. Mathewson is also wholesaling them.