All a board: Wrocław company chugs into the future by making cardboard furniture
A Polish company is shaking up the furniture world by making products from cardboard, offering an alternative to household items made from more traditional materials such as wood, metal or glass.
The makers claim the furniture is strong and durable.
Poland is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of furniture. The country is known for its wooden furniture, as well as for upholstered pieces such as armchairs and sofas.
Its light weight means the furniture can be easily carried and set up.
But Świat Tektury – which literally means “world of cardboard” – is urging consumers to give cardboard furniture a try.
Cardboard can be used for more than just a desk.
The Wrocław-based company’s website sells office furniture ranging from chairs to a full conference stand. It also offers pieces designed for children, including a cardboard chair for little ones and toy trains, ships and planes made out of cardboard.
Far from being flimsy, well-made cardboard furniture comes with its own advantages. To begin with it is light and easy to assemble, which makes it good for use at events, or for students who often have to move. But it is also durable and strong, with the cardboard chair produced by the company, for example, being able to bear a weight of up to 180 kilograms.
When it is no longer needed the furniture can be easily recycled.
The company’s CEO Rafał Linowski says his own apartment is fully furnished using the company’s furniture. Some of it is two years old and holding up well.
Świat Tektury also emphasises the material’s green credentials, tapping into growing interest among companies and private consumers about what items are made of and how they can eventually be disposed of. After serving its purpose, the cardboard furniture can be recycled, rather than going into the landfill.
