Biobased curtains with a view to a plastic-free life
House of Design, Iedema Projectstoffeerder, Ingeborg Meijssen Textiles, ecological dynamic arable farm & care farm Mts Timpelsteed and Biosintrum started developing plastic-free curtains in 2023.
People are exposed to plastic particles every day through the air, water and through their food. Blood tests have shown that people absorb microplastics into their bodies. Research has shown that 35% of all microplastics in the oceans come from washing textiles, which end up back in us through consumption.
Curtains in hospitals or care centers, for example, must be washed once a quarter, which releases many microplastic particles.
To prevent this, we will make linen curtains from the flax that the Timpelsteed in Engwirum will grow for this project.
The curtains are designed by House of Design in collaboration with Iedema Projectstoffeerder and woven by Ingeborg Meijssen Textiles. Biosintrum, together with the partners, provides a business model so that we can scale up further after this project.
With plastic-free curtains we can:
1. Prevent the spreading of micro plastics through the air and pollution of nature and our water
2. Create healthy spaces where people are free of microplastics in, for example, hospitals or care centers to recover healthily.
2. Contribute to new business models for farmers; In addition to ‘food’ and ‘feed’, it can also be grown for ‘product’
3. Make a positive impact on the environment because growing flax is a good crop rotation that contributes to biodiversity.
We will work with the flax from Timpelsteed to make linen curtains that are suitable for Iedema’s projects.
Quite a challenge!
The curtains must meet a number of criteria that plastic curtains currently meet.
The curtains must not shrink in the wash, must retain their color and must be fire retardant.
IN SHORT
Where: Province of Friesland and Groningen
When: January 2023 till September 2024
Partners: Iedema Projectstoffeerder, Ingeborg Meijssen Textiles, ecological farm Mts Timpelsteed, Biosintrum
Financial support: RVO Netherlands
