Innovation in plant-based fibres celebrated by Design Prize Switzerland
04/11/2019
Winners were announced at an award ceremony for the 15th edition of the prestigious award, for which an international jury selected 13 winners from a total of 44 entries in 12 categories. More than 700 guests from the fields of business, design, politics and culture celebrated the prizewinners and their outstanding work.
Start-up SwissFlax is a new company which buys flax straw from Emmental farmers and organises the downstream processing. This starts with mechanically removing impurities from the flax and ends with spinning the fibres into high-quality yarn.
Bananatex (pictured) won for being the world’s first technical textile made from banana plant fibres. Developed by the Zurich-based bag label QWSTION, the technical fabric is made from 100% naturally grown Abacà (banana plant). According to the company, Abacá is sturdy and self-sufficient, requiring no pesticides or extra water — qualities that have allowed it to help reforest areas of the Philippines once eroded by palm plantations.
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