JAVA

As a result of Melbourne being the ‘world’s coffee capital’, hundreds of hessian coffee bags are discarded each day. Hessian is one of the strongest natural fibres – hence its use in packaging where durability and resilience is important. Its therefore a great opportunity to find a way to reuse this under-utilised resource.

The cardboard used for the core is sourced from used cardboard cartons, and can itself be recycled several more times. For this reason I have used starch based glue which comes from a sustainable resource and is less toxic. If composted, the embedded seeds will germinate, potentially creating a source of food, oil and more fibre for future cardboard – or hessian bags. Flax (jute) is the fibre from which hessian is made and is one of the strongest plant fibres! 

If more use were made of plants such as flax and hemp for fibre there would be a reduced need for felling trees for paper and cardboard, with all its attendant environmental impact. Not only can crops be harvested in a year rather than decades, the paper is stronger as well. In using this material I am hoping to create greater awareness around this issue.

The stools are stackable, which makes for compact storage and reduces the environmental impact of transport.

While most cardboard products are made for temporary use, JAVA is designed to robust, lightweight, efficient, ergonomic and long-lived. Its fitness for purpose and longevity strengthen its sustainable design credentials