After four years of intensive research and engineering, the technical team at Italian furniture house Paola Lenti has developed a coating solution that considerably increases the performance of its mono-material yarn. The brand says that the new coated yarn, called Twiggy, will deliver incredible performance when put to use in the manufacturing of outdoor furnishings, while also respecting the environment. Twiggy is an evolution of the polyolefin yarn that Paola Lenti first started using for its outdoor fabrics 20 years ago.
News highlights
- Paola Lenti has developed a coating solution that considerably increases the performance of the mono-material yarn called Twiggy.
- The new outdoor-grade yarn will deliver incredible performance when combined with outdoor furniture pieces.
- The product is recyclable at the end of its lifespan.
- This will become the signature yarn of the design house and used across a range of contemporary outdoor soft furnishings.
- Twiggy joins the existing eco-conscious Aerelle Blue product, a recycled polyester fibre derived from plastic collected on beaches.
The brand says that the polyolefin-based yarn is resistant to challenging climate conditions, lightfast, waterproof and easy to maintain. As such, the product will be employed as the brand’s signature yarn across a range of contemporary outdoor textiles and furniture pieces.
“This polyolefin-based polymer has a smooth surface allowing for plays of light, opacity and transparencies,” says a spokesperson for Paola Lenti. “It is resistant to traction, stress cracks and abrasion. It resists to UV rays. It is water-resistant and is meant to be long-lasting without losing its qualities.”
Twiggy is available in the high-energy colourways that have always been the hallmark of the design house and, because it’s a single-material yarn, the fabric is also recyclable at the end of its lifespan.
The yarn and its subsequent fabrics can be regenerated into raw material, says the brand, adding, “polyolefin-based materials represent about two-thirds of reclaimed plastic materials.”
Although it is a synthetic material which is made from oil, the brand says that the progress made in manufacturing, thanks to modern technology, has reduced the environmental impact of the production processes.
This polyolefin-based polymer has a smooth surface allowing for plays of light, opacity and transparencies.
The product is mass-dyed which, the brand says, “is less polluting compared to the traditional process of yarn dying”. Compared to other synthetic polymers, such as PVC, “polyolefin yarns, thanks to their structural characteristics, do not need relevant chemical interventions to improve workability or performances”.
A representative for Paola Lenti says that the brand has replaced formerly used chemical additives with natural vegetable-based oils and that “all products are Teflon-free, guaranteeing water-repellency, resistance to stains and mold, and light-fastness without additives considered polluting and harmful to health”.
Paola Lenti’s Twiggy yarn joins the existing eco-conscious Aerelle Blue product, a recycled polyester fibre derived from plastic collected on beaches, that is used for furniture filler. “After being cleaned and sanitised [the plastic] is transformed into a fluff that guarantees comfortable padding, which keeps its shape and compactness over time like the most traditional ones,” says a spokesperson for the brand. “It is EU eco-label certified and of Global Recycled Standard, independently certified and audited for traceability,”
A selection of Paola Lenti furniture items are available in Australia at dedece.
