Fluff Stuff is a textile filling created
from plants cultivated on rewetted peatlands in Finland, which
has been designed by students at Aalto University and was on display as part
of Helsinki Design Week. Co-founded by engineer Lukas Schuck and
designer Tea Auramo, who are currently studying master's degrees at
Helsinki's Aalto University, Fluff Stuff is a range of prototype
soft homeware and clothing. These products include various colourful
cushions and duvets as well as jackets, bags and a
hooded hat that are stuffed with cellulose fibres.The
pieces are filled with typha latifolia, a type of plant commonly known as
broadleaf cattail, which is defined by its long cigar-shaped seed heads and is
typically found in Finnish peatlands – a type of wetland. Each product is
stuffed with plant fibres instead of traditional, carbon-intensive down
filling. According to the Fluff Stuff team, cattail absorbs 66%
less water than down and dries twice as fast. "Typha fibres are
naturally coated by a wax layer, making them highly hydrophobic," they
explained. Currently, the plants are harvested from rewetted
peatlands in Finland using the team's first prototype device – a handheld
machine that abstracts the cattails through suction. "Drained peatlands
account for 50-60% of agricultural emissions in Finland," said the Fluff
Stuff team, explaining that the project aims to restore rewetted peatlands
while also providing a ore sustainable solution to creating textile
filling."Fluff Stuff rethinks Finnish peatland management and the Finnish
textile industry by connecting bio-based material innovation with regenerative
agricultural practices," the designers added. Designer Auramo explained
that the team is currently using textiles it has sourced for the project, but
in the future, it plans to make its own textiles in which to use the filling,
as Fluff Stuff has plans to become a commercial range. "We chose colours
that would fit with our own dyed colours, so you can see beige and blues and
red tones so that they will fit later when we do more prototypes," the
designer said. She also explained that they chose green as a colour for some of
the products, due to its "fit in more modern homes". "We also
chose a more modern colour – lime green," said Auramo. "We definitely
aren't just serving hippies. We want to speak to different customer
groups." Other recent similar student projects include fabrics
created from plants grown in seawater and dissolvable ramen
packaging that turns into edible sauce.
Fluff Stuff is a textile filling created from plants cultivated on rewetted peatlands in Finland, which has been designed by students at Aalto University and was on display as part of Helsinki Design Week.
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