A sustainable Airbag by FÓLK x Studio Flétta, presented at 3daysofdesign

Showcasing how design thinking can pave a path for a promising new future utilizing materials already available – FÓLK collaborated with Studio Flétta to fabricate a sustainable airbag displayed at the Polestar showroom during 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen.

Inspiring consumers to live a more sustainable lifestyle with a vision of accelerating the green transition through design – FÓLK Reykjavik is an emerging North Nordic interior and lifestyle brand.

Research shows that 80% of a product’s environmental impacts stems from its design phase – “we apply principles of sustainability and circularity to all our processes from the design phase to production and into marketing with focus on transparency. 

Our products are flat-packed and designed for disassembly to ensure recycling of materials after its lifetime ends!” shares FÓLK.

On the other hand, Birta Ros Brynjolfsdottir and Hrefna Sigurdardottir joined forces to form the Iceland-based design studio Flétta. 

“Flétta’s aspiration is to reuse and upcycle materials into one-of-a-kind handmade objects that work as a basis for social commentary!” the duo says. 

Today, the global economy is only 7.2% circular and it’s rapidly declining. Did you know that? By rethinking processes and forming inter-industry alliances, this number can be raised significantly. 

A truly circular product – the design of the Airbag presented at the festival at Polestar is an example of a seamless transparent transformation from a linear to a circular economy with 96% of its material being waste from industrial or consumer processes.

[ Read also Waste Age: the designers creating furniture from food and rubbish ]

The story of this innovative yet eclectic project began with FÓLK asking the designers at Studio Flétta to visit a local car part sale and create a design from materials that were not currently resold or reused by the dealership. 

Flétta then found the airbags among the waste in the car part dealership and proposed the idea of crafting beautiful upcycled pillows from the waste. 

Sourced from car-junkyards in various countries in Europe from Denmark to Iceland and Germany – the Airbag’s inner cushion is made from factory waste from mattresses from caravan producer AnnTex mixed together with powerfill waste from outdoor brand 66 North. 

Additionally, the textile around the filling is a non-woven recycled textile as well. 

To everyone’s surprise – each of the Airbags is effortlessly unique and are pastel-hued with colorful embroidery when they emerge from the steering wheel. 

Strong and robust – they are further perfectly ideal for the living room, yoga studio, children’s room or even outdoor use.