Westport, Connecticut, USA
In 2025, Heller, the industry leader in modern design and sustainability, achieved a significant breakthrough in their journey to create furniture that is as kind to the planet as it is beautiful to behold. Having never shied away from the realities of plastic manufacturing and its impact on the environment, Heller took a meaningful step in destigmatizing the material by partnering with Worry Free Plastics, an innovative company with a first-of-its-kind enzyme utilizing regenerative depolymerization technology, converting plastic into nutrient-rich soil with no microplastics left behind at the end-of-life.
Heller + Worry Free Plastics Technology by Heller, won a 2025 Good Design Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies.
Compatible with petroleum-based and bio-based resins, rubbers, adhesives, virgin, and recycled materials, the Worry Free enzyme is seamlessly incorporated into Heller’s product mix, without affecting the function, durability, longevity and aesthetics their modern catalog of seating, tables, benches and accessories is known for.
Living dormant within the material composition of Heller’s products, the Worry Free Plastics enzyme is activated only when placed in an oxygen-free environment (e.g., under water or buried deep in the ground). When the process starts, the enzyme breaks the product down and regenerates into nutrient-rich, microplastic-free soil. The integration of this technology, therefore, resolves the paradox of creating with a material intended to last forever without lasting impacts on the environment.
Worry Free Plastics technology eliminates the negative properties plastic can and would impose otherwise, turning that negative into a net positive for the planet and its life forms.
Safe, non-toxic and ASTM-tested and certified for landfills, waterways and soil, Worry Free technology also adheres to Ellen MacArthur Foundation Principles, UN Waste Guidelines and a whole slew of global compliances while supporting the circular economy. Compliant with FDA, EU Food Safety, LEEDS, Green Certification and more, Worry Free checks all the regulatory boxes needed to increase its influence and use in this new frontier of material research.
Having fully implemented this cutting-edge process in early 2025, Heller can proudly state that they are the only 100% regenerative, 100% recyclable and microplastic-free indoor-outdoor furniture brand on the market. Paired with their mission to ethnically manufacture iconic designs for generations of use, Heller and Worry Free Plastics is a partnership for the ages, disrupting the industry in the best way possible, deciding to own an iconic piece from Heller is an easy, “worry-free” choice.
Designers: Heller
Manufacturer: Heller
