Circular furniture design

“Mater means ‘mother’ in Latin. The name is the daily reminder of our small contribution to preventing the challenges ‘mother earth’ faces. Design influences how we as humans live our lives; it shapes values, culture and society. Unfortunately, we are increasingly aware that the choices made during design processes often have environmental consequences. However, as a manufacturer, we have the opportunity to rethink dubious practices and create ethical and sustainable design that minimises adverse social and environmental impacts.” - Henrik Marstrand, Mater founder.

Founded in Copenhagen in 2006, Mater are a pioneering global brand with sustainability at their core. With a mission to create beautiful design in a responsible way, Mater have rethought traditional design and production processes to help minimise their environmental impact. With every new furniture collection, they innovate with new materials and emphasise circular production whilst never comprising on high-quality and timeless design aesthetics.

Today, we talk you through the design and production of three innovative Mater collections, all of which are transforming would-be waste into something special.

The Børge Mogensen Conscious Collection

Driven by their circular-economic approach to production, Mater have developed a revolutionary suite of new materials that they have named MCM. Mater Circular Materials (MCM) are created using a production process which takes fibrous waste material and up-cycles it into a unique composite material that can be press-moulded to create new furniture.

This technique allows efficient up-cycling of industrial waste while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions, instead of the waste being burned. The result is an extremely malleable material with a texture very similar to stone or marble.

This material forms the basis of the new Børge Mogensen Conscious Chair, the first time a Børge Mogensen design has been manufactured in a different material to what what originally intended by the designer. The BM3162 Chair is crafted from FSC-certified wood and Mater Circular Materials.

To create their ‘Coffee Waste Black’ and ‘Coffee Waste Light’ finishes for the product, Mater have collaborated with coffee roasters BKI, taking coffee shell waste from their production process and mixing this with up-cycled industrial plastic waste from German company GROHE and recycled fibreglass. The result is a seat shell that is constructed from approximately 70% recycled plastic, 24% coffee shells and 6% recycled fibreglass.

The Eternity Sidechair

Another Mater design that makes use of their revolutionary MCM is the Eternity Sidechair, designed by the duo behind Space Copenhagen, Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou.

Once again, Mater have teamed up with BKI Kaffe and GROHE to source their waste materials, turning discarded coffee beans and waste plastic into a beautiful material with a mesmerising texture. The production of this large, complicated shape in MCM represents a technological milestone for Mater and paves the way for further MCM designs from the company.

This new composite material is designed to be reprocessed again and again and subsequently Mater have introduced a take-back scheme for their MCM designs. Anything made from Mater Circular Materials can be recycled and made into new furniture up to five times.

The Ocean Collection

Plastic waste is one of the world’s biggest challenges. Since the 1950s, approximately 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced globally, 6.3 billion tons of which has already become waste. Mater are doing their part to redress this balance with the innovation of new materials that make use of plastic waste and turn them into furniture.

A design icon, reimagined – the Ocean collection was first designed in 1955 by renowned Danish designers Jørgen and Nanna Ditzel. Originally produced in wood, Mater continue the Ditzel’s pioneering spirit by producing the Ocean collection from ocean waste plastic.

Denmark is home to one of the only recycling plants for fishing nets in the world, and Mater wanted to make use of this untapped resource on their doorstep. Just one Ocean Chair makes use of 960g of plastic waste, saving up to 82% of CO2 emissions compared to virgin equivalents.

In collaboration with Carlsberg, Mater have now also expanded the Ocean collection in a green finish, crafted from beer kegs that would otherwise have been discarded by the brewer. A Carlsberg OC2 chair saves up to 53% in C02 emissions compared to using virgin plastics and has the equivalent climate impact as a 150-gram steak according to Danish company Målbar.

Continuing Mater’s commitment to circularity, every piece in the Ocean collection is also designed for disassembly, meaning that each component of the design can be recycled once the product reaches the end of its life.

Eager to discover more? Discover the full Mater collection on our brand page. Alternatively contact our team to find out more about the environmental certification of Mater products.

Have you enjoyed reading this piece? We’d love to hear your thoughts on circularity within the design industries and the use of waste within furniture design. Share your ideas or send us your questions via Instagram or Twitter @nest.co.uk.