Plant-based materials catching on

With an eye toward sustainability, makers of home furnishings are experimenting more and more with plant-based materials. You can find things like bark, leaves and seeds transformed into vegan leather, fabric and organic plastic.

At Frankfurt’s Heimtextil 2020 trade fair earlier this year, for example, there were lots of examples. Swiss company Qwstion showed its Bananatex, a sturdy, waterproof yet biodegradable cloth woven from Philippine abaca banana-plant fiber. It’s being used to make totes and bags.

Dutch designer Nienke Hoogvliet weaves seaweed into rugs, chairs and tables in her Sea Me Collection. She also dyes organic linen using herbs like rosemary, sage and chamomile.

Various design studios are developing bio-laminates, laminated materials composed of plant starch and fibers that can be made into tabletops and other furniture.

East African mutuba fig bark, a fleecy material used by Ugandan craftspeople for generations, is sustainably harvested and processed by Barktex into a pliable, leather-like material that can be used to dress walls and furniture.

Another African company, Green-nettle Textile in Kenya, harvests the nettles that grow on the country’s steep hillsides. Besides being transformable into a linenlike fabric, the drought-tolerant nettle crops help curb soil erosion in areas not suitable for agriculture.

Latvian-born designer Sarmite Polakova turned her studies in material research at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands into the development of a

Pottery Barn Teen via AP Pottery Barn Teen’s Amelia bedding collection, is made of Tencel, a soft, wrinkle-resistant material made of eucalyptus fibers. Many manufacturers of home decor are working on producing sustainable products. Plant-based materials now include things like bark, leaves and seeds transformed into vegan leather, fabric and organic plastic.