Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven | AlgaeFabrics

Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven is a product design studio, however in a very different way. We design value chains, from raw material all the way up to product and the consumer experience. Because our projects are so new, different and sometimes radical we like to experiment, test and design the entire value chain to finish with a Proof of Principle.

Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven, Tjeerd Veenhoven, Groningen, Palmleer, palm leather, huis veendam, material development, Sustainable Business, Global Change Award, social entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship and sustainability

376

portfolio_page-template-default,single,single-portfolio_page,postid-376,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode_grid_1300,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,qode-theme-ver-10.1.1,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.10.0,vc_responsive

AlgaeFabrics

Print page

Algae Fabrics

The fashion industry is facing many challenges as the textile consumption is expected to increase three times by 2050. In addition, there is almost no circularity in the industry as 95% of textiles after its’ product lifetime is burnt. As a result, Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven sees this as an opportunity for changes towards a more sustainable fashion industry.

Project AlgaeFabrics envisions algae as a future raw textile material and develops a strategy on how to achieve this. Organic organisms of algae are spread globally in the oceans and lakes and are the crucial element in the carbon flux as it converts large volumes of CO2 to oxygen. This makes a positive impact in dealing with the global warming.

In places with an excessive growth, algae unwanted and cause problems like worsening water quality and negative effects on local communities. From some lakes, it is already being removed but usually just left to decompose or burnt without any actual use. This raises a question what new applications could be invented for algae. Cladophora, an algae species we work with, is rich in Cellulose making up to 70% its’ content. This makes a great potential to upgrade algae value and apply it in the textile industry. By applying design thinking and experimenting in our studio lab we develop ways on how to achieve this.

AlgaeFabrics has been honoured with a Global Change Award 2015 initiated by H&M Foundation as one of the top five winning concepts on how to close the loop of fashion. The H&M Foundation supports this 3 year project with their extensive network in the fashion industry and a substantial grant.

First yarn is expected to be produced september 2017.