Just two seemingly good culture concepts I thought of, neither is fully explored, just more.... Unique and basic then current culture.
Elves are as "ecofascist" as they are in current game, given that eating dead buddy's are ok to them. They do not mine (Well. DO not make picks. They can dig, but do not produce stone,) chop down trees, or farm. To make up for this they are fast and can sustainably gather materials from their environment, and via lengthy compression make them somewhat useful.
Bark: Bark is the base of the elven economy. It is peeled from a tree that has had a materials free "Peeling station" built around it, but elves do get a bad mood for two peeling stations being to close to one another "Libsen Oakenbung feels that nature is being crowded out," if a tree is over-harvested, it will die, and Lisben will be reduced to childish babble instead just being upset. Bark being worse then the most vile wood uncompressed, it will likely only ever be made into fences of many a great meadow. Most importantly. The harmonious meadow, where plant products are compressed.
Bark gear does wear. The average compressing cycle uses 4 bark.
Birch(Or other papery barked trees:) Uses lots of bark in compressing (8-1,) but gives excellent quality materials. Can be 4-1 compressed for Birchen leather. Something many elves like.
Feather-wood bark: Tends to be Lighter.
Oak: Tends to be harder.
Pine: Can be gathered from more often and is compressed 2-1, but brittle.
Willow Trees: Versatile. Good Gear.
Acadia: Sharper.
Ceder: Rarely available, Slow wearing. Above average Gear.
Rubber tree: Gives bark (Elastic, light Gear) and Sap (Boils down to Leather, its as good as animal leather and heat resistant..... I wonder what makes the leather that great?)
Glumprong: Heavier gear. Somewhat nauseating.
The finished bark products are all compared to wood. They are generally used as the wood sector of the elven economy. Elves use compressed bark as wood. They can make some armor, but the barken panels need to be placed upon a suit of leather, but animal leather will anger elves in the construction process. "This creature never felt such violence in life." "This dragon was never one to deserve this much humiliation." "This poor clown."
Tree planting: Given a tree branch from an elven caravan, you can grow your own trees for bark stripping outside of their native environment.
Leaves/Needles: Leaves make up the really low class extremely thin leathers of the elven economy, and serve a very quarry-bush like role. Leave compression would on average be 20-1 sheet of leather, but would be gathered approximately 5 at a time. Unlike bark stripping. Leaving a tree will only reduce its recovery time, so leave away.
Needles are the fiber base for the worst, most uncomfortable fibers that have been boiled down. This is all you need to know.
Gather plants: Gathers plants, but with limited chance of success, but more items being produced, and/or not destroying the plant.
Tree euthanasia: Once in a while you will be informed that a tree has lived a happy life, and has sown its seeds. In order to give room for its children, the elves will ease it out of its misery of old age. This will only happen with peeling station trees, and a new tree will replace it in about a year. The wood will stimulate the elven economy. Wood compresses to wooden blocks for one unit wood. These are the elvish stone. Given some bark, and some wood of the same type, you can make wooden bars. Which are elvish metals. Both make elves rejoice.
Whisperers grove: Elven crafts shop. Skilled whisperers will give good moods to passing elves. More weaponry is made here then in dwarven craft-shops.
Diplomacy fields: Elven.... Forges. Elves will get frustrated from sticking around one for too long.
Hunting changes: Elves will naturally prefer to kill predators, and scorn killing herbivores.
Fishing changes: Renamed river wailer. They scream at rivers. This will enrage any animals/fish nearby, The fish will crawl on land and die, given that the Elves do not get their feet wet.
Animal training changes: Instead of capturing animals, they sing at them. Occasionally the animal will attack, or more like kill itself via ceasing its own breath.
Think mechanical dwarfs.
You get a bunch of bronze skeleton bearing, leather muscled, cloth skinned animated dolls. They cannot speak, or communicate. Dwarves take them as cursed and leave them be. Humans and Goblins will raid their camps and try to take their goods, Fortunately you are very tough. Elves will show their (Useless) mercy.
They do not go through medical issues, but instead need to be repaired by a mechanic, this includes using cloth to patch holes, filling gaps in the leather, and adding metal to patch up the skeleton. They do not age. They do not have interests, and carnivores do not care about them, but herbivores are threatened by them. Neither do they have pets.
Their physical stats are fixed at construction unfortunately (but have legendary toughness and do not tire.)
Construction involves making several mechanisms (The quality of which effects their agility,) and metal skeletons (massive amounts of metal. Effects toughness.) The then take large amounts of leather (Strength) and cloth, as well as two matching gem eyes (Intelligence.)
They eat fuel, but eat very rarely, and their construction is manually controlled by the player. The settlement is most likely their only settlement on earth.
This civ is to be a more lonely version of the dwarfs, but also be a good one for mastery of the game, as you would have much more control over your soul dolls.