COVER: Paneco
Sustainability, recycling and the circular economy are themes which have by now become a part of our daily lives, and companies and the market continue to place more attention on them. Due to global warming and cultural changes over the past years, the new frontiers of industrial production have rapidly moved towards protecting our planet’s natural resources.
The green economy is now constantly at the center of debate and research; and there are many brands which are geared towards recovering waste products and materials to provide them with a second life. Take for example Paneco, the Japanese brand created by Work Studio, which has decided to make use of millions of tons of industrial waste from clothing to create new “domestic outfits”. Each year we produce 13 million tons of waste linked to the clothing industry, of which Japan alone counts for around 1.2 million tons. The majority of clothes end up discarded and incinerated, emitting enormous amounts of greenhouse gas.
So, why not recover the fabric waste and use it as a raw material for interior design? This was the idea of Paneco which, under the leadership of CEO Kazuhiro Hara, has undertaken a genuine journey into the textile industry to recover all of the fabric, leather and carbon fiber waste possible to work and transform it, bringing in various Japanese social organizations as well.
The long and arduous work requires meticulous attention to detail from the earliest phases. In fact, the clothes are removed of all extra components (zippers, buttons, decorative elements) to then be torn apart and ground up. Once processed, the eco-sustainable raw material is pressed with a sophisticated system and transformed into special, 100% recycled and recyclable Paneco panels.
These panels are multifunctional products which are suited for use as the structural base for countless types of furniture: poufs, bookcases, tables, chairs, wardrobes and covers with a low environmental impact. Each panel contains small irregularities and imperfections which make them unique and different from the others. Its granite-effect texture is just one more thing which makes the Paneco furniture exclusive and inimitable.
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