by julia.steinle -

Upcycled Furniture Made from Recycled Parachutes

LAYERS x RAEBURN – parachute edition 2019

The designers focused specifically on using surplus ex-military parachutes and aircraft brake parachutes, made from ultra-thin ripstop nylon material, and worked with one of the head seamstress at Raeburn to create the finished products.

The material used comes from old military parachutes and from the brake parachutes of aircraft, which basically function like parachutes. Two of the chair designs boast a more tousled look, achieved by draping layers of the parachute material over their framework. One features a mixture of white and peachy tones, while the other is coloured in a palette of blacks and greys.

The other style sees a multi-coloured parachute material tightly wrapped around its metal structure for a taut finish, making it clearer what purpose the material once served.

Each of the textiles were secured with a combination of concealed zips and different textile techniques, including hidden seams and French seams. Extra parachute material has been wrapped around the armrests. Recycled parachute material wrapped over welded steel frames make up this collection of rocking chairs and screens by Benjamin Hubert‘s design agency Layer and the eponymous label of fashion designer Christopher Raeburn.

Welded steel frameworks provided a “blank canvas” for the designers, enabling them to make the parachute material the standout element in each product.
“The Canopy Collection uses the strict geometry of the steel frames as a base on which to experiment with innovative and forward-thinking recycled parachute upholstery,” said the creators.

“[It] is tuned into the semantics of a parachute in flight – the lounge chair gently rocks back and forth whilst the re-configurable screen takes inspiration from the section and construction of a wing,” they added. The ability to layer the ultra-thin ripstop nylon to create durable furniture pieces with innovative forms was a particular area of interest.

According to Hubert, one of the biggest challenges was templating from the military parachutes, as they contain existing panels, in addition to being very large in size and circular in form. Rather than creating “pseudo-panels”, the designers wanted to use the parachute as it was.

Resources:

Further research:
– Contact Paratec for an interview

by julia.steinle -

Aviation Design – Parachute Upcycling in Fashion

Home bedding & bath linens are a huge opportunity in the circular economy. Often made up of mono-materials, like 100% cotton and 100% linen, they are what we call high value textiles, the types that can be easily fiber-to-fiber recycled and entered back into new textiles streams. But what about the fabric of parachutes? Nylon is hard to process and therefore rarely recycled.

Parachute upcycling: The fabric is soft, ultralight and semi-transparent and 100% nylon // SLOWLY Brand on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stay_slowly/

https://slowlyupcycling.com/shop

Garments Made out of Parachute Fabric

maharishi 5091 Upcycled Parachute Kimono for €515: https://www.maharishistore.com/products/5091-upcycled-parachute-kimono-olive

Calling your product Parachute Hoodie can lead to some confusion.  Reading the name, I thought the hood would blow up into a large canopy to slow down your descent when you jump out of a plane.  But, alas, it doesn’t. Instead, it’s actually just a good-looking hoodie made from recycled parachute materials. Made in Switzerland, the garments are constructed out of surplus Swiss military air-brake parachutes.  Each Parachute Hoodie uses two different colors (orange and white) of the parachutes as its primary material.  For further military surplus recycling, it also uses tape taken from the original parachutes for the seams, as well as jersey cuffs ripped out of military balaclavas. Only 100 of the garments have been made, all of them handcrafted. Further: Parachute Hoodies https://www.coolthings.com/parachute-hoodies/

FIELDSOUTFITTING

Upcycled Parachute Jacket (Large – D.65.23) Price $165: https://www.fieldsoutfitting.com/collections/baumm

Paragliding Jacket: https://owlstore.eu/en/producto/retro-4/

Paraglider upcycling windbreaker with zip, two outer pockets with zippers and inner pocket with zip, wide cut and longer hem on the back.

  • Outer fabric: 100% Upcycling Paragliders – 100% Rypstop Nylon
  • Lining: 50% Recycled Cotton / 50% Recycled Weight – 150gr / m2 Certified by: RECYCLED-COTEXMO®
  • Maintenance: For greater durability of the material and its attributes such as impermeability, we advise cleaning with a damp cloth, in case of washing: Cold wash, iron at low temperature, do not use dryer.

Parachute Shorts for 185,00 €: https://owlstore.eu/en/producto/parachute-upcycling-pants/

Vanderstore’s Post on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanderstore/p/C_wmvuyxUhT/?img_index=2

RЕwind is a Ukrainian clothing brand for adventurers with the wind in their hearts and the sea in their minds. REwind recycles old used sails and reinvents them into stylish items of clothing: polo, jackets, pants, mittens and backpacks.: https://rewind.com.ua/collections/demilitarization

DEMANO Shop creates bags from various outdoor fabrics, also Kitesurf Sails and Parachutes: https://demano.net/en/bum-bags/2023-joanmini-bag-from-recycled-parachutedark-green.html

Further Research Ideas:

  • How to source fabric from suppliers
  • Collecting ideas for the use of white fabric from rescue canopies
  • Textile research: Nylon fabric behavoir when sewing