The all-electric Nissan Leaf already features upholstery made from recycled water bottles. Now its seats, door panels, headrests and center armrest will be trimmed in ECO CIRCLE Plantfiber – a new fabric partially derived from sugarcane.
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Archive for the ‘Green Upholstery’ Category
Photo: An Eco-Friendly Soft Top?
While Ford is dumping loads of money and resources into developing new interior fabrics made from plants, the owner of this Volkswagen Jetta has taken a more organic approach.
The Peugeot that’s Trimmed in Newspaper
Peugeot debuted its eco-friendly Onyx concept car at the 2012 Paris Motor Show earlier this month. Built in association with Dutch design firm Vij5, the Onyx features a one-of-a-kind interior cabin trimmed in NewspaperWood – a material made from recycled newspaper.
Modern Meadow to Introduce Lab-Made Leather
A shortage in the world’s supply of leather has caused ripple effects throughout the auto upholstery industry – most notably, an increase in the price of quality hides. While most industry insiders – from tanneries to trim shops – are at the mercy of cattle farmers, one company is working to sever our reliance on animals once and for all.
No, I’m not talking about faux materials. Rather, real leather made in a lab.
Photo: Hand-Carved Wooden Dashboard
We’ve seen some wacky car interiors, but this Russian Lada with a hand-carved wooden dashboard takes the cake! According to Autoevolution, a Ukrainian man whittled it out of a single block of wood. He made the steering wheel as well.
Introducing Japan’s Toilet Seat Motorcycle
In 2011, researchers at Queen Mary University in London made headlines when they discovered that car interiors carry more bacteria than public toilets. Apparently Toto Ltd., a Japanese toilet company, took that as a challenge – because it invented a toilet-seat motorcycle.
The Most Expensive Ford Ever Built
Ford Motor Company may soon produce a car that’s more bourgie than a Bentley, but costs thousands of dollars less. How is this possible? The rumor is that Ford is experimenting with ways in which to recycle millions of dollars in shredded and discarded U.S. currency into interior parts.
Ford Trims SUV in Flowers & Other Junk
Seems like Ford is dead set on making the Escape an SUV that even tree huggers can’t scoff at. In addition to raising its gas mileage, stuffing its seats with soy foam and trimming its interior with fabric made from recycled water bottles, Ford has just announced that the Escape’s interior door bolsters will be made from a tropical flower called the kenaf.
Repreve: Ford’s Water Bottle Car Fabric
Nissan announced in March 2011 that its all-electric Leaf would feature seat fabric made from recycled water bottles, but Ford is apparently leading the charge with Repreve, a new polyester fiber made from the plastic.
The Benefits of Trimming in Bamboo
We all know that customizing vehicle interiors involves a delicate balance of form and function – especially when constructing solid structures like dashboards, consoles and speaker cabinets. While the go to material for these types of projects is usually wood or fiberglass, both have serious drawbacks that need to be considered.
Wood is easy to work with, but it often adds unwanted weight. Fiberglass, on the other hand, is light, but can be messy and complicated to use. There is, however, a material that combines the best of both: bamboo.
