Lasse Olsson Photo-21242.jpg Lasse Olsson Photo-21242.jpg

True trash: how to turn waste into value

True Trash exhibits in our shared Ege Carpets / Gabriel showrooms in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. The exhibition invites you to explore the potential of our overflowing waste streams and see trash as the beginning, not the end. True Trash shows examples of discarded materials turned into pieces of art and new functional products that once again can be turned into new products or be completely decomposed.

Lasse Olsson Photo 21239

No time to waste

Our planet’s natural resources dwindle, and landfills turn into mountains of litter contributing to constantly increasing CO2 emissions. Man-made products that'll eventually be thrown away aren’t sustainable options. Instead, we must see waste as a treasure for our future innovations. Many designers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers are already exploring waste as their primary resource and have become great inspiration to change mindsets, practices and processes.

The exhibition is divided into three parts:

  • What’s in your trash

  • Why trash is treasure

  • How to transform trash to textiles

What’s in your trash

Unbelievable amounts of waste are thrown away. However, everyday leftovers, production residues and the constant flow of plastic waste are already being reused and reinjected into the value chain of new products. These circular innovations challenge us all in our private households and in our professional lives to rethink trash as something we must consider, keep and not least sort and turn into a valuable resource. Waste isn’t waste until it’s wasted.

Below is a sneak peek of 24 examples of trash that is already being turned into new materials or products. Visit one of our showrooms to explore them all.

WHAT’S IN YOUR TRASH

Why trash is treasure

Enjoy a short introduction to six works of art or products created from waste materials. Feel inspired and rethink what to do with your own trash or reflect on how to specify trash-based pieces to your interior design project.

PERSONAL PLASTICS

Personal plastics

Royal College of Art textiles graduate Marie Bach Holm has a special talent for developing new ideas around materials or techniques. Personal Plastics is a study of form and material to explore how we can change perceptions of recycled plastic. The objects redefine the grey, mottled look often associated with recycling and some resemble paper, clay or glass.

Ege felt

Ege felt

When producing carpet tiles, off-cut waste is unfortunately generated. But it can gain new life as comfortable stuffing for cushions, mattresses and even sound-absorbing walls. The Ege Felt material’s thickness, hardness and appearance can even be tailored to the individual product.

Eros Torso

Eros torso

The Eros Torso vase from the Danish design brand Niko June is made from up-cycled plastic that is individually heated and shaped by hand. Niko June works with different materials but avoid mixing materials together – because products made of mixed materials are more difficult to recycle.

Rebottled

Rebottled

Recycling empty wine bottles costs 85% of the energy used on producing new glass. By turning used glass bottles directly into new glassware, the Dutch company Rebottled has found a new way of recycling glass.

Forite

Forite

A research project between Belgian Studio Plastique and Norwegian Snøhetta led to the development of an actual process for recycling e-waste glass components. Together with Italian ceramic tile manufacturer Fornace Brioni, it resulted in the creation of Forite glass tiles.

Wasted

Wasted

The book Wasted celebrates 30 optimistic and enterprising designers, makers and manufacturers who use waste as their primary resource, offering a rare glimpse into the embryonic world they inhabit. The author, Katie Treggiden, is a craft and design journalist with almost 20 years of experience in the creative industries.

How to transform trash to textiles

We believe in circular thinking and in keeping as many resources as possible in a closed loop. That is why we constantly challenge industry standards and find new materials and methods of production.

More than 60% of every carpet from Ege Carpets are made with yarn from regenerated and renewable materials. Ege Carpets use yarn made from industrial waste, fishing nets and used carpets. They have also introduced a CircleBack program for 10 of their best-selling collections where 98-100% of the components can be recycled into new products.

Through our new Gabriel Loop textile-to-textile solution we collect and recycle industrial textile waste and transform it into new textile products that can be recycled again and again - in an infinite loop. The Gabriel Loop textiles are made from a blend of textile waste and post-consumer recycled polyester from plastic bottles.

Gabriel oop

Explore true trash in your showroom

Experience our True Trash exhibition in our Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen showrooms, and dig further into how to turn waste into value, why trash is treasure and how to transform trash to textiles. We are more than happy to give you a guided tour. 

Stockholm: Rosenlundsgatan 40, tel. +46 761 09 93 34
Oslo: Trondheimsveien 156, tel. +47 67 87 67 50
Copenhagen: Christianshavns Kanal 4, tel. +45 97 11 88 11

The true exhibition concept

True is a series of exhibitions developed by Ege Carpets and Gabriel for our shared showrooms in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. True is the headline for the co-operation between our two well-established textile companies that share the love of good, honest materials and have a strong sense of responsibility. The ambition is to create inspiring themed exhibitions that will lift the experience of our products to a higher level and create a united universe where we invite and attract architects, interior designers and other design lovers to explore and discover.

The exhibitions aim to not only feature carpets and textiles but also designs, pieces of arts and innovations from other companies and artists to motivate, touch or even challenge the viewer and to create new relationships with interesting working partners that will help us move forward. The exhibitions change 1-2 times a year with the first of its kind being True Nature and the second being True colours.