Seat pad from textile waste fibers for Lindström - from pilot to top product
The world's first seat pad made from end-of-life textiles
The Kurkela seat pad is made from two layers of felt produced from different end-of-life textiles, between which we laminated a thin, waterproof film. Together with our partner Ykkösmuovi, we commissioned dies and a special tool to add creases, or fold lines, to the seat pad.
Based in Suomusjärvi, Ykkösmuovi Oy specializes in the manufacture and printing of office supplies. We supplied them with the laminated felt blanks, and they finished the products. Finally, the Lindström company logo was screen-printed onto the product at Ykkösmuovi's own printing facility. We had previously worked together to develop a screen printing technique for felt based on Marabu's environmentally friendly inks.
The work required practice, experimentation, and also some risk-taking. However, we were confident that, together with the staff at Ykkösmuovi, we would be able to combine our expertise in thermoplastic plastics and end-of-life textile fibers to achieve our goal. The product turned out exactly as planned.
End-of-life textile fibers are a massive resource
Rester Oy opens the fibers we use from end-of-life textiles. The felt for these seat pads therefore consists of workwear retired from circulation at Lindström. As a fiber source, workwear is particularly well-suited for utilization because its fiber composition is clear and it can also be easily sorted by color.
One of the largest sources of fiber is hospital textiles, and you can tell from the colors what kind of tasks the workwear has been used for. Lindström is one of the investors in Rester, and both companies are utilizing discarded textiles as a resource based on circular economy principles. Lindström's business is entirely based on the circular economy, and the company strengthens its customers' environmental and responsibility goals.
Lindström Oy
One of Europe's leading textile service companies, with over 175 years of experience in the textile industry. We offer solutions for facility hygiene and interior design, workwear, and protective equipment, as well as textile services for hotels and healthcare through our subsidiary Comforta. We operate in 23 countries across Europe and Asia.
Ykkösmuovi Oy
Ykkösmuovi Oy is a manufacturer of traditional office supplies and a printing house. We manufacture products for sale on a B2B basis, i.e., business-to-business.
Rester Oy
Rester is a Nordic company that provides textile recycling solutions and enables the recovery of textiles into new textile fibers and high-quality raw materials. Rester is also a leading pioneer in building value chains for textile utilization. We act as a bridge between different sectors in developing the textile circular economy. Our customers are companies that use textiles and produce textile waste, as well as companies that can use Rester recycled fiber in their production or products.
Vilikkala Tradehouse Oy
The world is full of beautiful bags and storage baskets. We were created to facilitate your everyday storage needs aesthetically. Our goal is to use local recycled materials and find the best circulation for each product through inventive materials and our pioneering partnerships.
We offer textile services to companies that need customized textile processing using our stock materials, their own fabrics, or leather. On our textile line, we process two-component felt using heat and pressure, and we cut roll products according to the customer's needs.
Vilikkala was founded in 2014 in Salo, in a village named Vilikkala. The company is part of Rester Oy's network that utilizes end-of-life textiles. The company is owned by Jari Toivonen and Hannu Tuomola.
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