The Formary has created WoJo, a revolutionary upcycled fabric, blending jute from old coffee sacks with New Zealand strong wool to produce fabric for Starbucks for furnishings in their refurbished and new stores.
WoJo was conceptualised by The Formary, and has been brought to life for Starbucks in collaboration with UK weavers Camira and wool suppliers, Wools of New Zealand. The radical new WoJo fabric will be used in a range of Starbucks seating and forms part of the company’s commitment to ethical sourcing and environmental stewardship, at the same time as supporting wool farmers.
The new textile was unveiled as part of UK Wool Week on 11 October 2010, at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair, London. It will be featured at Starbucks flagship Conduit Street store in London’s West End. Furthermore, the organisers of UK Wool Week – The Campaign for Wool, convened by HRH The Prince of Wales, and The Society of British Interior Design (SBID) – have recognised Starbucks and The Formary with an award for Sustainable Product Innovation.
The key challenge to overcome in upcycling used coffee sacks was to prevent the shedding of fibres from the jute. Weaving was identified as a way of combining wool and jute.
With the help of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, The Formary identified partners near Starbucks’ European distribution centre willing to test the viability of the recycled jute/wool concept. Wools of New Zealand were selected for their sustainably farmed Laneve wool and Dell’Orco & Villani, manufacturers of textile recycling equipment, for their technical experience with recovered fibres. Wools of New Zealand based in the UK created a supply chain based in Yorkshire, long known for its textile industry.
David Hammond, European market manager for Wools of New Zealand stated that Laneve traceable wool is sourced only from accredited farms which meet high standards in regard to animal welfare, land management, farming techniques and environmental practices.
UK textile company Camira was selected to manufacture the fabric due to their technical capability in bast fibre upholstery cloths. The trial weaves of recycled jute/wool blend came off the looms in June 2010. The fabrics have been tailored to meet Starbucks’ strict performance requirements with the first commercial production of WoJo fabrics completed in September 2010.
The WoJo trial fabrics were submitted to The Society of British Interior Design and have won a Sustainable Innovation Award as part of the Campaign for Wool convened by HRH The Prince of Wales.
Awards were also made to the Formary, Wools of New Zealand and Dell’Orco & Villani for Partnership in Sustainable Product Development, and Camira for Technical Excellence in Manufacturing.
