Swedish furniture manufacturer Verk recently showed their new collections at the Stockholm Furniture Fair and, on top of that, they exhibited the first all Swedish wool textile in decades. 'Verk is not an ordinary furniture producer. Besides making sustainable furniture, our work has always been about strengthening and revitalising the domestic production and processing industry. After more than 3 years, we can now proudly present an all-Swedish furniture textile, something that has not been available for many decades,' the brand explains.
Ingegerd Råman is the designer behind the textile's aesthetic values.
'When we launched Verk in 2021, it was said that 70% of all the Swedish sheep's wool was burnt or alternatively buried. Now three years later, the figure has dropped to around 50%. A giant step in the right direction but still far from good. Regardless, a sign that the interest in Swedish wool is constantly growing.'
The company tries to take advantage of the opportunities that the country offers. 'The challenges are of course many, but the benefits are even more. The cost is a result of the production volume and this has previously been a problem in the domestic textile industry. Now a new chapter is being written when we once again have a large-scale wool spinning mill within the country's borders. From now on it is possible to manufacture a price competitive all-Swedish wool fabric,' they say.
Verk is now launching 4 varieties of furniture textiles, all with their own colour based on the sheep's own wool quality. Ingegerd Råman is the designer behind the textile's aesthetic values. 'Weaving technology in combination with the different recipes of the yarn lays the foundation for how we experience the fabric. A fabric consisting of 100% sheep's wool is naturally flame retardant and does not require chemical post- processing.'
Sofa in Verk textile.
The fabric is also incredibly durable. 'We hired RISE to wear-test our textile samples and they have all reached at least 80,000 Martindale. That is far more than is required of a fabric for a public environment. The textile industry accounts for a considerable fossil footprint, although it is very complex to understand and measure the many different steps in the process during production. What we can be sure of is that a piece of furniture that includes textile always has a significantly higher fossil footprint than a piece of furniture without.'
'Verk produces textile from local raw materials that would otherwise have been discarded in one way or another. A textile with the smallest fossil footprint possible. We can now offer a textile product that you can use with a clear conscience for furniture upholstery without the CO2e footprint being significantly affected. This is something completely unique. The future is local!'
More information:
Verk
info@verk.se
www.verk.se