Berlin, Germany
Berlin-based designers Lobke Beckfeld and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten have succeeded to transform fruit skin leftovers from juice production and short cellulose fibers sourced from textile factories into a transparent handbag.
Named Sonnet115, this sustainable and biodegradable handbag can be composted, recycled, or dissolved in water when is no longer needed.
“With SONNET155 we aim for a desirable product, which represents sustainability as a treat rather than a burden. The design of the bag follows a minimalist approach to enhance the texture and translucence of the material,” explain the designers.
“The bag is fully biodegradable in water or soil as it is made from a composite of two raw materials, which can be sourced locally: cellulosic production waste from the textile industry and pectin, a plant-based polysaccharide and a by-product from juice production. The material is fully compostable and can be integrated within a biological life-cycle.”
“We designed the bag as an upgrade to the ordinary paper bag but of course, we hope that it appeals to people in a strong way and will be worn, used, and loved until it starts to dissolve,” states Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, co-designer of Sonnet115.
“Thus, it might also be a temporary handbag. The elegant shape transforms the material into a desirable product, which represents sustainability as a treat rather than a burden.”
Each Sonnet115 is unique as it has a unique texture created through the addition of small cellulose fibers.
The key ingredient of the bag is pectin, the gelling agent that is extracted from the fruit skin that acts as a natural binder.
This is reinforced with cellulose fibers shorter than five millimeters long, which are filtered out during the industrial textile production process because they are too short to be turned into fabric.
Combined with warm water, the mixture is left to cure in a mold for up to five days before it is sewn together.
When the bag is no longer used, it can be used as soil fertilizer as pectin is already used in organic agriculture.
Project: Sonnet115
Designers: Lobke Beckfeld and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
Manufacturers: Lobke Beckfeld and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
