Wool repurposing 

 
At Kvadrat, we are aware of the significant impact that textile waste can have on the environment if not managed responsibly. Today, more than 15 kilograms of textile waste is generated per person in Europe and is expected to grow drastically over the coming decade. Therefore, we have high ambitions to reduce textile waste where possible and reuse, recycle or upcycle textile waste where possible and also develop circular solutions to close the loop.  
 
Over the years, we have seen innovative technologies emerge and our conversations around circular thinking have deepened. As a result, we have added further recycled designs to our collection, such as Re-wool and Sabi, which are recycled woollen upholstery textiles.  

Our collaboration with production partner Wooltex has allowed us to meet a key technological challenge: ensuring consistent quality and high performance with recycled wool. For our recycled woollen textiles Re-wool and Sabi, we achieved a breakthrough in the collection and recycling of fibres from the spinning process, resulting in fibres of optimal length and quality, delivering our high-performance requirements as all the other new fibres we use.  

As both Re-wool and Sabi are made with 45% and 23% recycled wool respectively, they have a reduced environmental impact. The recycled fibres have already been processed, which means that farming, transportation, scouring, and dyeing are taken out of the equation.  

In 2022, we recycled 25 tons of woollen waste through the sales of Re-wool and Sabi. We also take leftover fibres from small cones and splice them together to make bigger cones, which can be reused instead of sending them to recycling. Furthermore, our production partner, Innvik, is part of a national network in Norway where they explore the potential of recycling production waste for new textile production. 

Re-wool by Margrethe Odgaard is a rich upholstery textile crafted using 45% recycled wool. Reminiscent of colourful stitching on a darker background, Re-wool features exceptional depth of colour, creating a dynamic play on the textile’s surface when applied to furniture.   

Sabi is a multidimensional woollen upholstery textile, which explores layers and bright colour paradigms. Designed by Louise Sigvardt, it is meticulously crafted with 23% recycled wool sourced from our production partner Wooltex in the UK. Sabi’s dynamic colour palette is achieved by combining virgin wool with recycled wool dyed in rich, dark hues.