Hong Kong's Studio RYTE has developed a modular seating design made from flax fibre that can be broken down into three stackable segments for easy transport and storage.
In this way, the designers hope to encourage users to take the Triplex stool with them wherever they move, rather than adding it to the mountain of 22 million furniture pieces that are discarded every year in the UK alone.
When the stool is no longer needed, the flax fibres, as well as the polylactic acid (PLA) that binds them together, will fully biodegrade.
The Triplex stool is made from flax fibre
"We are still experimenting and improving the material, but at the moment it would take three to six months in a controlled environment for the stool to start decomposing," said Studio RYTE founder Dennis Cheung. "We foresee the stool being used by its owner in city after city, generation after generation. But when it finally comes to the end of its life, the product can disappear responsibly."
The Triplex stool has been shortlisted for this year's Dezeen Award in the seating design category.
The flax fibre is layered with PLA to create the chair's distinctive green surface
Flax fibre, its predominant ingredient, is derived from the stem of the flax plant and commonly used to make linen.
But in this case the cellulose polymer is used for its natural strength, which, according to Cheung, rivals the performance of carbon fibre.

"Flax fibre itself has a high tensile strength and Young's m...