The idea behind it was to create an honest and environmentally friendly textile with a poetic feel by recycling leftover materials from their own production.
The collection Re-wool was designed by Margrethe Odgaard and consists of 45% recycled wool.A particular challenge in the design was to always create a consistent result. Recycled materials are usually difficult to calculate because they are made up of all kinds of different scraps. Thus, it is difficult to ensure consistent quality. Kvadrat solved this problem in collaboration with Wooltex, a British wool supplier. For a long time, the partner companies had been working together to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for high-quality wool fabrics. When Wooltex finally had the idea to recycle the leftovers from its own yarn spinning mill, Re-wool was born. Since the wool scraps did not come from different suppliers, but were all Wooltex quality, it could also be guaranteed that the look and quality would meet Kvadrat’s high standards.
We are as enthusiastic as Margrethe Odgaard about the concept of using your own leftovers. With shining eyes, she describes the process: “It’s like going through the production facility with a broom and melting all the fabric scraps together in a big melting pot to make a completely new yarn. Re-wool thus closes the circle and enables textile production in which no fibers are wasted. The result is a noble virgin sheep wool fabric, which is characterized by its durability and soft surface.
But what exactly is the composition of Re-wool fabrics?
Each fabric consists of two thread systems: Warp threads are stretched vertically in the loom, while weft threads run across and are added in the weaving process. After making numerous different fabric samples, Kvadrat finally decided to use warp threads made from pure recycled wool and apply the color through weft threads made from new wool. Overall, Margrethe Odgaard says the texture of the high-quality wool fabric’s soft feel is reminiscent of hand embroidery or a light seam on a darker fabric. A particular challenge in designing the Re-wool fabric collection was to bring the colored wool threads on the recycled wool yarn to life. The textile designer has succeeded extremely well in this: Re-wool wool fabrics are characterized by an extraordinary depth of color, which creates a dynamic play on the textile surface.