New Application for Recycled Clothes : Katowice: Urban furniture made from recycled textiles
Katowice, one of the largest Polish cities, takes it's commitment to sustainability in the urban environment very serious. The city recently opened a so called pocket park with urban furniture entirely made of recycled materials.
A pocket park is deployed in an urban environment, where space is scarce, and greenery paves the way to buildings. Usually they are temporary and have small but convenient urban furniture. They aim to make public spaces more attractive by introducing greenery to urbanized places which also prevents the formation of local heat islands.
For the urban furniture of the new park, local authorities chose a very special material. The benches, chairs, and tables are made from 95% old clothes. VIVE Texcellence, as it is called, is a durable material that imitates the appearance of wood, but is made of textile. Its source is shredded clothing, which is no longer good for wearing and is thermally treated and solidified. For durability, a certain amount of metals was used. But half of it comes from secondary raw materials. The park will be open until the end of September.
Since the Climate Change Conference COP24 in 2018 Katowice aims to be the world's climate action capital.