Debuting in a seating range from Made by Morgen, this leather is the first product of a whole-system circular model, turning discarded retail and exhibition signage into a furniture grade upholstery material.
While the will is there, most material recycling fails on simple economics, especially when it comes to plastics. Globally, less than 10 percent of all plastic is recycled, the rest in burnt, mismanaged or goes to landfill1. Other Matter, the materials research studio founded by Jessie French in 2020, set out to tackle this dilemma. The answer? Other Matter Leather, an organic, non-toxic material made entirely from offcuts and end-of-life signage sourced from the studio’s OM Signage Film. To tackle the higher costs of collection and reprocessing, the studio has sensibly designed a premium product.
Other Matter Leather x Made by Morgen.
The system is closed at every stage. In its current implementation, tight control is kept over process by keeping production at Other Matter’s Melbourne studio. Offcuts are collected directly from the OM Signage Film manufacturing line; signage is returned to the studio at the end of its display life (including signage installed in client commissions). Reformation into the upholstery surface takes place in the same studio. Because the source material is entirely non-petrochemical, it can be reformed into a soft sheet suitable for upholstery and furniture applications.
Process at Other Matter's Melbourne Studio.
The first to feature Other Matter Leather is the relaunch of an existing Made by Morgen seating range. OM Leather replaces the traditional leather upholstery of the original. The range, comprising a chair, a stool and a high stool, had been previously designed, shown and sold by Made by Morgen.
For French, this approach is sound. "Most recycling doesn’t fail on chemistry, it fails on economics. If the value of what comes out of the loop doesn’t justify the cost of running the loop, the loop closes once and never (opens) again. We designed Other Matter Leather to do exactly that work. The signage carries our highest value material on the way in. The upholstery carries it on the way out. That’s what makes the circle keep turning.”
Sources: 1 Our World in Data
