Hungarian design student Levente Szabo from Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design, Hungary, has won the Electrolux Design Lab 2007 competition with E-wash, a compact washing washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent.

"E-wash is a brilliant connection between ancient knowledge and high-tech," comments juror Henrik Otto, Head of Global Design for Electrolux. "It takes someone open-minded to look for solutions from somewhere else and apply them to his own culture." Adds fellow juror Matali Crasset, an award-winning French designer: "It is a global system. It doesn't just address one part of the process." Szabo says that his starting point was the polluting effect of both the washing process and the production, packaging and transportation of the detergent. "I was looking for a substance that could replace the detergent," he explains. "The soapnut is a natural plant and can be cultivated. It does not harm nature but is a part of it. "The other problem was the form of conventional washing machine. I reduced the size and made it flat, so it would fit into a small apartment, but also would be able to wash a lot of clothes at the same time."