Paneco is a Japanese brand led by Kazuhiro Hara that produces new interior decor solutions by transforming discarded fabrics, garments, footwear and other waste from the fashion industry into multipurpose eco-friendly panels.
From a careful study, Paneco has created a new recycling-oriented production model that links the worlds of fashion and interior design and can help build a more sustainable future.
Worldwide, an estimated 13 million tons of waste is produced annually from the global garment industry.
In Japan alone, this waste is estimated to be about 1.2 million tons, most of which is disposed of and incinerated, therefore producing huge amounts of greenhouse gases.
After three years of analysis and research, the firm led by Paneco’s CEO Kazuhiro Hara has created a new type of panels suitable for interiors made by crushing and blending various types of textile gatherings.
Paneco Paper has a texture similar to that of Japanese Washi paper and has unlimited possibilities for use as a new material for interiors, to create, for example, curtains, Shoji screens, or Fusuma, the typical Japanese sliding doors with paper squares placed inside the doors and divided by a central rod.
The production of the panels begins with the recovery of waste from the textile supply chain, including leather and carbon fiber, which are then processed into final products.
To make such material, garments and footwear are stripped of all superfluous components such as, for example, decorative elements, zippers and buttons, then crushed and ground.
Once processed, the material is ready for final processing, and through a sophisticated system of presses, panels take shape that are themselves 100% recyclable at the end of their life.
Each panel is composed by 91.5% of recovered clothing and footwear, to which a glue of natural origin is added. To make one panel with dimensions of 930 x 930 x 5.5 mm, it takes, for example, 20 shirts.
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