Flower Matter: Irene Purasachit Rethinks Flower Waste

Irene Purasachit is a Thai designer, currently based in Finland. She has recently completed her Master of Arts (MA) in Contemporary Design at Aalto University and defines herself as a product designer in the broadest sense: for her, being a product designer does not only mean designing products but also experimenting in different design areas such as industrial, furniture, graphic, and packaging design, as well as conceptual design. Lately, her work focuses on environmental and sustainability issues, experimenting with natural materials. It is no coincidence that her latest project, Flower Matter, stems from waste generated by the flower industry.

Symbols of beauty all over the world, flowers stimulate all the senses and bring us joy, but they have an incredibly short lifespan. Millions of flowers are planted, selected, cut, and transported across the world daily, ready to become precious gifts for loved ones or exquisite decorations before ending their long journey in landfills. Irene’s research shows that 40% of commercially grown flowers are thrown away before they reach consumers’ hands.

“As a case study, in Bangkok, Thailand, where the excessive use of flowers is deeply rooted in the way of life, there is Pak Klong Talat, a flower market with over 500 vendors that runs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The market generates roughly one cubic meter of flower waste per shop per week, or approximately over 10 tons of waste flowers daily. These discarded flowers are thrown away with their packaging intact, so they are not considered organic waste and can only end up in landfills or being incinerated.”

Therefore, she asked herself: What if we could extend the life of these discarded flowers? What if we could utilize them in bio-based materials?

Flower Matter is an ongoing research project exploring ways to sustainably valorize flower waste. The project acts on different levels: it not only transforms waste into various environmentally responsible materials but also prevents recyclable waste from going to landfills, reducing volume in the waste stream and offering circularity to the industry. As flowers are essentially plants, stems and leaves yield fiber. Petals contain less fiber but are vibrant in color and can be made into pigments. These two bases can then be made into limitless bio-based materials.

Flower Matter was exhibited at Dutch Design Week 2021, at the Pennings Foundation during the Only Good News exhibition by Isola Design District During DDW, Irene decided to present three materials with different applications. Speaking of circularity in the industry, what if the paper for flowers was made from flowers? Made of 100% pulp from various flower stems and leaves, this type of paper is completely natural, contains no additives, and consists only of flower fibers.

Another material that can be created from flower waste is the flower sponge, used for decorative compositions. This material is made of 100% fiber from flower stems (mainly carnation and iris). The material aims to simulate and act as an alternative to floral foam. It’s water-absorbent, strong enough to hold flowers, biodegradable, contains no oil-based ingredients or additives, and is microplastic-free.

Last but not least, Flaux showcases the full potential of this waste. Defined by the designer as a nonwoven textile, flexible sheet, or leather-like material, it is created with flower petals (mainly rose and carnation) as the main ingredient and natural color agent for the material, making it microplastic-free. A small clutch bag and a set of coin purses were prototyped from Flaux as proof of concept for the material's ability to be made into lifestyle products. As the material has been developed with the aim of potential implementation in the textile landscape, the design was chosen for a basic construction technique such as sewing. Standard zippers and threads available at regular craft stores were intentionally selected to communicate the material's potential within standard construction techniques. After a series of hand-sewing tests, the final pieces were sewn together using a household sewing machine.

Like many other projects that deal with the recovery and experimentation of organic waste materials, once again, Flower Matter shows us how something we consider "waste" can have new life and even contribute to the circularity of the sector.

Visit Irene Purasachit’s website to learn more about this project and follow her on Instagram!