Tree bag - reWrap
October 2013 - February 2015 Is it possible to make a bag out of tree material? That was the question reWrap asked when developing their new workbag. The bag had to be as biodegradable as possible and therefore they did a research of two years.
reWrap asked me to think along in the design process and come up with material solutions besides their own search. We had to find a solution for the out- and inside of the bag, making the bag water-repellent, the handle and different assembly techniques. First we defined the material characteristics. Smoothness is important for the inside of the bag, as for example a laptop needs to be easy to take out. The handle had to be strong and comfortable to hold. We looked at different closing possibilities that are easy to disassemble for recycling. Besides all these aspects all materials had to be made according to the concept of the tree. To assemble the bag we thought of different construction techniques. Finally stitching (with biodegradable stitching yarn) turned out to be the best solution, but glueing with biodegradable adhestive is still an interesting option. As you can see the text on the handle and label are engraved. reWrap does this with all their products. This way they are able to share information, but do not add extra paint or the like to the material. As a result the material remains suitable for high quality recycling. Photography Reinout van den Bergh
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