As a concept, product, and textile designer, Nienke Hoogvliet’s goal is to find ways to make the textile industry more sustainable. Of most concern to Nienke is the heavy pollution that is generated in the process of dyeing textiles. Seventy percent of China’s rivers are polluted with chemicals because of wastewater from textile dye factories. The chemicals influence hormones, causing serious health and environmental effects. Therefore, she set out to research how a new material from wastewater, Kaumera, could contribute to reducing the damage.

The scale of production is also a problem; every year 80 billion clothing items are sold. This means 11 pieces per person worldwide. Clothing is cheap and easily thrown away, a trend that’s called fast fashion. Nienke wants consumers to value textiles and clothing more while at the same time making production processes more sustainable by using raw materials from wastewater. She discovered that Kaumera makes textile absorb dyes better, so less water is needed and less is polluted. To add color to the textiles, she used two natural dyes extracted from wastewater: Anammox and Vivianite.

The Kaumera Kimono is an act of rebellion against fast fashion. Kimonos are passed on for generations, cherished and valued. Nienke wants to encourage consumers to think of their clothing that way while using Kaumera, Anammox, and Vivianite to dye them.

For Dutch Design Week 2018, the Energie-en Grondstoffen Fabriek asked Studio Nienke Hoogvliet to curate an exhibition around Kaumera. The studio wanted to show the wide range of possibilities of this material and therefore invited Studio Billie van Katwijk and Studio Jeroen Wand to submit designs using it. The designers all found different applications for the material – from porcelain to textile to glue.

After Nienke’s project SEA ME – a handmade rug knotted with seaweed yarn into an old discarded fishing net- she continued her research on how seaweed can contribute to a more sustainable textile industry. With funding from the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, she could research not only how this sustainable yarn can be used in the textile industry, but also in what other ways seaweed can be used. Nienke worked on creating a circular process to optimally use the seaweed. The waste of the one process is used for the other process, ending up with zero waste.

Nienke discovered even more potential than she had expected: natural dye with seaweed offers a wide variety of colours. She can dye textiles into greens, browns, greys and even pinks and purples. Every type of seaweed gives a different colour. The light fastness of the dye is proven to be more than qualified.

To show the potential of these materials, Nienke designed a chair and a table. The seating of the chair is made of seaweed yarn and dyed naturally with seaweed. This was woven by hand into a soft seating. The leftovers of this process are used to create a regular paint for the tabletop. The waste from was used to make the bio-plastic bowls. That’s how she wants to visualize how seaweed can be part of our homes in the future.

The process and research are documented in a book called – SEAWEED RESEARCH by Studio Nienke Hoogvliet.

The SEA ME Collection is part of the collection of the Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL).

Photography by Femke Poort

Size chair: 90 x 50 x  80 cm.

Size table: 40 x 40 x 40 cm.

How do you value your values?

The studio developed two carpets for this project and followed the process from sheep to final product. One of the carpets is made in Armenia and the other one is made in the Netherlands. If you are aware of the stories and facts behind a product, will that influence the way you value it?

Nienke and Tim have worked on different topics around the theme of sustainability for years. They have created new materials and production processes, but they have come to realize that value holds the key to truly creating change.

The contemporary definition of value is primarily focused on financial value. However, Nienke and Tim consider it the last step in the value chain. The creation of value begins with us: What do we stand for in life? What are our values? The objects we buy should resonate with these values for them to be truly meaningful to us. There are two sides to building value, rational and emotional, facts and stories. When buying an object, the facts about how it was produced are not available or they tend to be overshadowed by marketing stories, making it hard to determine if your values resonate.

Transparency is key if we are to determine value based on all the facts and true stories, and so we can relate to, and create a bond with an object. This connection is a necessity if we want a sustainable world; it will ensure we will take care of the object and extend its lifetime, resulting in fewer objects needing to be produced – thereby reducing resources and waste and lowering the impact on our planet.

Photography by Hannah Breaken  en Boudewijn Bollmann en Lotte van Uittert

Videos by Hannah Breaken

Rug sizes: 180 x 260 cm.

The Dutch Water Authorities are recovering valuable energy and raw materials from wastewater. One of those raw materials is used toilet paper. Recently the Water Authorities Aa & Maas and Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier installed fine sieve installations, with which they can reclaim used toilet paper (cellulose). To celebrate this sustainable innovation, they invited Studio Nienke Hoogvliet to design products with this material. Every year 180.000 tons of toilet paper is flushed down the toilets of the Netherlands. This means 180.000 trees! Before the installation of the fine sieves, this material was burned. Using this cellulose again, not only means that we need to cut down fewer trees, it makes the process of cleaning the water require less energy as well.

Studio Nienke Hoogvliet made a collection of objects, consisting of a big table, lighting, and decorative bowls to show how this material can be integrated into our homes. The goal of the project is to create a positive association with this material. Therefore the cleaned pulp was made into unique, handmade products and combined with brass to show that something from the sewer can have great value again.

Besides cellulose, the Water Authorities can also reclaim energy, phosphates and other materials from wastewater. To show all the possibilities, the tables consist of eight drawers. Every drawer highlights a material.

For more information: www.efgf.nl

The deeply ingrained belief that time equals money permeates our society. Nienke Hoogvliet and Tim Jongerius argue that this mindset is fundamental to the ongoing ecological crisis. They propose that allocating more time to the processes of design and production could result in products being more carefully crafted, leading to their prolonged lifespan and reduced resource wastage.

In our contemporary world, we appear to be governed by ‘Chronos’ time – a concept embodied by the Greek god Chronos, representing measurable time and relentless continuity, synonymous with clock time. However, the ancient Greeks also revered Kairos, the god of the opportune moment. By cultivating tranquility, mindfulness, and precision, we create the conditions for seizing such moments. It is within these Kairos moments that novel ideas and breakthroughs emerge, driven by attentiveness, ingenuity, and a sense of wonder, thereby paving the way towards a brighter future.

The interactive installation ‘Kairos’ beckons visitors to momentarily detach themselves from the constraints of clock time and embrace the present moment in all its richness.