At the “Uusi Puu – New Wood” exhibition in Helsinki, visitors' attention was drawn primarily to a shirt made of wood and other wood-based textiles. The exhibition will travel to the seminar “Beyond the Bio-Bubble – Solutions for a circular forest bioeconomy” in Brussels on 30 November 2022. Wood textile fibres proved popular among many visitors to the “Uusi Puu – New Wood” exhibition, which showcased bioeconomy innovations in Helsinki. Marina Rotkus, author of the Dioriina blog, was most interested in the textile fibre made from wood, which is called Kuura.
“I found this fibre interesting. It’s hard to believe it’s made from wood,” Marina Rotkus said of the Kuura fibre. Kuura fibre is produced by Metsä Spring, Metsä Group, an innovation company, from cellulose manufactured from wood sourced from sustainably managed Finnish forests. Marina Rotkus believes she could buy clothing made from wood, perhaps such as the shirt produced by Ioncell, which was exhibited alongside Kuura. “I would like to wear it for a few days to see what it feels like,” said Dioriina blog author Marina Rotkus.
The Autotalo building, a landmark in Helsinki city centre, hosted the “Uusi Puu – New Wood” exhibition earlier this month, which was visited by more than 80 journalists and social media influencers (influencers). The exhibition was organised as part of a press event by the company Manifesto PR.
Wood-based textiles have recently become a hot topic in stock market circles, as Time magazine selected the company Spinnova from Jyväskylä, Finland, for its list of the best innovations of 2022. The company’s share price soon rose by more than 80%.
“Uusi Puu – New Wood” is a community created by more than 20 Finnish organisations with the aim of raising awareness of the forest bioeconomy. In addition to wood-based textiles, various other wood-based products were presented at the exhibition, such as packaging for food and cosmetics.
The “Uusi Puu – New Wood” exhibition will hold a seminar, “Beyond the Bio-Bubble – Solutions for a circular forest bioeconomy”, in Brussels on 30 November 2022.
The seminar, organised by UNITE and FinnCERES, will present the latest bioeconomy research and future materials. FinnCERES is a competence centre jointly established by Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. UNITE is a flagship centre for research with impact on society and one of the leading centres of the Academy of Finland.
Clothing made from wood will be in vogue in the future
Wood textile fibres can replace synthetic fibres and cotton clothing. Compared to synthetic fibres, wood-based materials require fewer chemicals and help combat the problems caused by microplastics. Cotton production is considered a significant environmental problem, as it generates high water consumption and the use of arable land for non-food purposes.
One of the journalists attending the exhibition was Ellinora Autti from Gloria magazine, which focuses on fashion and beauty. Autti was also most interested in the wood-based textile fibre exhibited at the show.
“Clothes made from wood will be in vogue in the future. I would like to see these clothes in mass production. They could become a new Finnish export industry,” said Ellinora Autti.
“A shirt made from wood! Hard to believe,” commented identical twins and social media stars Viivi and Venla Sidānmālaka when asked about the most interesting exhibit at the “New Wood” exhibition. The twins have 12,900 followers on the social network Instagram.
The Finnish forest industry is keeping pace with the times
Virpi Korhonen, project manager of “Uusi Puu – New Wood”, says that the New Wood exhibition interests not only decision-makers and influencers but also ordinary citizens, i.e., consumers.
“People often don't realise that many everyday items and packaging currently produced from plastic can actually already be made from wood. The reaction to this exhibition is most often very positive, and people are surprised at how modern the Finnish forest industry is and how many innovative applications the industry has found for wood,” points out Virpi Korhonen.
V. Korhonen’s favourite at the exhibition was a paper innovation developed by Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT Technical Research Centre), which they are currently bringing into production.
The protective casing made of paper can be used, for example, to wrap your duty-free drinks bottles. Based on the Japanese origami technique, the packaging provides protection without requiring much material.
“Paper as a material is warm to the touch and environmentally friendly. It will be the new bubble wrap with huge market potential. In this way, the value of paper will increase many times over, and wood fibre can be recycled up to 25 times,” continues Virpi Korhonen.
Exhibition visitors were also interested in the Woodio washbasin made from wood composite and the Mysoda sparkling water maker.
“The common denominator of the most popular items exhibited here is that they combine Finnish design skills and a responsibly produced raw material – wood,” emphasises Virpi Korhonen.
The main sponsor of the New Wood exhibition is the Finnish Forest Foundation.