Sustainable fibre padding
Recyclable fibre padding for a sustainable future
How can comfort, durability and sustainability be combined? Our answer: with innovative materials and a clear goal in mind.
How can comfort, durability and sustainability be combined? Our answer: with innovative materials and a clear goal in mind.
PU foam has long been considered the standard in chair upholstery – but it is hardly recyclable. König + Neurath has therefore developed a new, single-type fibre padding: It consists of a moulded polyester fibre part (80% of which is post-consumer recycled material) and a core made of BREATHAIR® – a 3D loop structure made of continuous polyester fibres. This combination is patent pending and will initially be used in our JET.III office swivel chair.
The idea behind it is to replace the PU content in our office swivel chairs with fully recyclable thermoplastics – and thus extend the circular economy concept to the upholstery. BREATHAIR® consists of soft and firm fibre zones and is
- 100% recyclable
- antibacterial according to the Japanese SEK standard.
With this combination, we want to not only achieve the seating comfort, dimensional stability and durability of PU, but exceed it!
The recycling cycle of K+N fibre upholstery
- PET bottles – raw material, mostly blue.
- Shredding – the bottles are shredded.
- Refining – this produces new fibres.
- Further processing – in our durable products.
- Recycling – returned to the material cycle.
The graphic refers to the polyester fibre content, not the BREATHAIR® core.
We think circularly instead of linearly
The life cycle is also impressive: collected PET water bottles are turned into fibres, which we process into upholstery – after use, the material can be returned to the plastic cycle in a re . Overall, the upholstery contains around 40% post-consumer material and, as a monomaterial, is completely recyclable.
For users, this means excellent, permanently stable seating comfort with even pressure distribution, comparable to spring core upholstery – breathable thanks to its open structure and durable.
With this approach, we are strengthening our commitment to sustainable product development and demonstrating how thoughtful material selection can bring about real change. For us, sustainability means comfort without compromise!