BARK TO THE FUTURE

From household items to fashion pieces, sustainability has rapidly become part of our everyday life. Sustainability provides environmental, social, and economic benefits while protecting the environment, so why not embrace it? These days, many companies are fabricating innovative materials to replace the use of leather, most look indistinguishable from traditional leather but the Tokyo-based brand Postalco has created a new aesthetic entirely.

For 2000 years, artisans in Japan have transformed tough mulberry bark fibers, also known as Kozo, into exceptionally durable paper. Kozo is a completely renewable resource that regenerates as a farm crop every year. In more recent years, Postalco, which specializes in stationery and personal goods, has teamed up with the family-run Awagami paper factory to adapt the traditional manufacture of Kozo into a thicker textile. Together, they have created a material called Famer's Felt that combines an interlocked fiber felt with Kozo fibers.

Farmer’s Felt is acid free and archival quality. Its manufacture uses a chlorine-free bleaching process and no heavy metals. The process emits no nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or sulfur dioxide (SO2) and any waste fibers are recycled into the next batch.

This uniquely stylish yet sustainable line of wallets has pockets that pop open to encase the thickness up to 16 credit cards and folds flat when empty, complete with Postalco’s signature cut brass snap closure. Although the material is less than half the weight of leather of the same thickness, these wallets prove their durability over time and continue to look just as good with normal wear.

Posted by Angel

SHOP BLOG is written by the sales associates of SHOP Cooper Hewitt, bringing their singular design expertise into the digital realm.