New York, New York, USA
“Ocean plastic has become one of the greatest threats to our oceans and discarded fishing nets are the worst kind of ocean plastic,” says Robert King, founder and CEO of Humanscale.
“These nets can ‘ghost fish’ for years and are often washed onto reefs, damaging or destroying these delicate ecosystems.”
Humanscale and California recycling company Bureo have reimagined the classic Diffrient Smart office chair of 2013, but this time using plastic made from recycled fishing nets.
Called Smart Ocean, each of these chairs is formed from close to one kilogram of recycled nets, collected from the ocean and turned into pellets.
Humanscale collaborated with Bureo to design and develop the first-ever ergonomic chair to be built with recycled net sourced from Bureo’s Net Positiva program.
Smart Ocean utilizes material from discarded fishing nets that have been collected in an effort to develop innovative solutions to prevent ocean plastic pollution. The nets are transformed into plastic pellets and then used to manufacture Smart Ocean chairs.
Smart Ocean is the first-ever ergonomic chair to be built with recycled net and is also certified by the International Living Future Institute to the full Living Product Challenge — meeting the most rigorous sustainable manufacturing criteria to date.
It’s also the first tangible product available for purchase from the consortium of companies under the NextWave initiative created to keep plastics in the economy and out of the oceans.
Smart Ocean is the embodiment of our commitment to sustainable manufacturing.
Each chair incorporates almost 2 pounds. of recycled fishing net material and is Living Product certified — meeting the most rigorous sustainable manufacturing criteria to date.
The chair features the same timeless design and functionality as the Diffrient Smart chair, Smart Ocean (available in black frame) offers Form-Sensing Mesh Technology to instantly adjust to and move with every unique user.
There is no need for training, instructions or manual adjustments.
“This is the best version of a for-profit model that goes beyond sustainability,” says Jane Abernethy, Humanscale’s sustainability officer.
It’s a net-positive product where a company is actively doing more good by going beyond simply reducing their footprint, she adds.
Project: Smart Ocean Chair
Designer: Niels Diffrient (2013)
Manufacturers: Humanscale and Bureo Inc.