MERINOLITE

Glen Askey

Wool is a luxury product that is limited to people’s perception of it as a material only for fashion and clothing. By utilising the waste strands of the wool production process, a series of bio materials can be used to create a more responsible production line that is better for sustainability. Merinolite is influenced by early plastics such as bakelite that were seen as luxury goods until they were mass produced and commoditised. By creating a new luxury bio plastic, Merinolite can offer designers a new bespoke material that has more character and sustainability than plastics, such as acetate used in luxury sunglasses.

This product offers a leading-edge view on materials science that utilises world-class new methods of synthesising plastics out of animal proteins. This is the first wool plastic and these experiments are the first of their kind in the world. The choice of materials with valuable characteristics is crucial for designers and offering fashion and product designers, as bespoke materials is a big market.