Designers look to nature, landfills for new decor materials

At first glance, Nina Edwards Anker’s sconces and chandeliers look like ancient scrolls of parchment, or sheets of buttery toffee, wrapped around LED bulbs. “For furniture, there are organic materials like lentil beans, buckwheat and other fillings for upholstered furniture, as well as natural rattan, cork and bamboo.” Huge strides have been made in turning recycled plastic bottles and wood and plant fiber into materials that can be used by the home and fashion industries, which are trying to address the negative environmental impacts of cotton production, plastics pollution and more. “We’ll see companies demonstrating how inorganic materials like nylon, plastic and metal can be reused – for example, carpet tiles that can be dismantled at the end of their life and used as a raw material for new tiles,” says Olaf Schmidt, Heimtextil’s vice president of textiles and textile technology. “At the end of their life, the panels can be shredded and reused.” At last summer’s fair, innovative materials included cork and recycled PET bottle fiber. The recycled PET bottles Schmidt mentioned are being transformed into a mesh yarn called Hydroknit by Canadian footwear maker Native Shoes, and into lightweight shoes and boots the company calls “sweaters for your feet.” Italian brand Kampos offers swimwear and rainwear made of PET bottle filament yarn that’s quick-drying and soft.