DESIGN | SUSTAINABILITY
Right: The plastic parts in the Kirn chair from furniture company OrangeBox are made from Domo’s Econamid recycled PA materials
the contribution of polyamide producer Domo Chemicals to the Kirn chair from Wales-based office furniture company OrangeBox. Domo’s Econamid PA materials, which are used in the plastic parts of the chair, are produced from post-industrial recycled textile fibres. The Kirn chair was developed by Orangebox with support from Linear Plastics, an injection moulder regularly used by Orangebox, and Domo’s European distributor, Ultrapolymers. Orangebox says that the use of the Econamid
material means Kirn’s manufacture produces 97% fewer CO2 emissions than that of a task chair made from virgin plastic. In addition, the chair is designed to use as few materials and resources as possible, and uses recycled materials wherever feasible. In the world of office furniture, Herman Miller is a company with a long and respected design pedigree. In September last year, it said it has started using recycled plastics in its Aeron chair range, as part of the company’s commitment to use 50% recycled content in all materials by 2030. Aeron, Herman Miller’s top selling chair, was designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick in 1994 (with a new version in 2016). Its highly engineered design, ergonomic excellence and material innovation (eradicating the foam and leather found in most office chairs at the time) led to many awards and many imitators. It was also the company’s first product to receive the Cradle to Cradle V3 Silver Level certification, assessed on environmental and social performance. Herman Miller is being supplied with recycled
Below: Herman Miller says it has started using recycled plastics in its classic Aeron chair range
material through its involvement with NextWave Plastics, a collaboration of technology companies and consumer brands to develop a global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. The ocean-bound plastics used in Aeron is currently sourced from India and Indonesia. Gabe Wing, Herman Miller’s Director of Sustain-
ability, says: “We joined NextWave to play an active role in taking on the ocean plastic problem and
IMAGE: ORANGEBOX
cast a wide net for opportunities to incorporate ocean-bound plastic across our global operations. We’re proud of the progress we’ve already made with packaging and textiles and are eager to continue doing our part in preventing harmful plastic from reaching our oceans by adding it to the iconic Aeron Chair.” The company says that, depending on configu-
ration, the ocean-bound plastics in Aeron can be found in the frame and tilt covers of the chair amounting to between 0.5 and 2.5 lbs (226.8 g and 1.13 kg) of the material per chair. The Onyx Ultra Matte colorway contains the highest amount of ocean-bound plastics at almost 2.5 lbs (1.13 kg) per chair. All chairs within the Aeron Portfolio are up to 90% recyclable and composed of over 50% recycled content, it says. While Herman Miller produces high-end
furniture, another company of global stature – IKEA – dominates the affordable end of the market. It too has a sustainability focus in its product design and has the ambition to use only renewable and recycled materials by 2030. This focus was high- lighted five years ago in the Odger chair. This injection moulded chair is made of wood-plastic composite comprising 30% wood chip from reclaimed wood and 70% PP with recycled content. Odger was designed for IKEA by Stockholm-based Form Us With Love. “Renewable and recycled materials are prerequi- sites for a circular society,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Head of Sustainability at the Inter IKEA Group, in the group’s 2021 sustainability report. “In a world of limited resources, we want to move away from the linear model of ‘take, make, waste’, to a circular system where nothing is wasted and where old products become new resources. Our ambition is to inspire and enable our customers to live better everyday lives, within the limits of the planet, so the materials we use are a key aspect of this.” She says the group has “made some good
14 INJECTION WORLD | March 2022
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: HERMAN MILLER
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