LOVIA CONCEPT STORE FREDRIKINKATU 18, HELSINKI | Fri 14-18, Sat 12-16

TRASH MATERIAL PUT TO USE

Interface

Furniture excess leather

lovia-dna-interface-1

Trash material put to use

Where does the material for Lovia trash treasure come from? Interface is one of our partners in giving trash material a new life. Interface has been making furniture for living rooms in Finland since 1963 and they are known for high quality, Scandinavian design and comfort. All Interface furniture is made by hand in Heinola, always taking into consideration individual needs and wishes of their customers. Sustainability is an important value for the company, and it shines through in the quality materials used, long-lasting design features and Finnish production. Turning the tables of the fashion industry to a more sustainable direction requires concrete actions and now, excess cutting waste from furniture making is transformed into bags.

ESTABLISHED: 1963

LOCATION: HEINOLA, FINLAND

Durable bags from sofa leather

In the manufacturing of sofas cutting waste is left over, too small to utilise any more in its original purpose for furniture. Normally this resource ends up wasted, even though the material itself is brand new and high in quality. A shame, isn’t it? However, these small pieces make for perfect material for Lovia bags. The leather for sofas and other home furnishings is made to stand the test of time, and in Lovia bags these materials transform into bags that become long-lasting partners for their new owners.

Now you know how the leather ends up to Lovia from Interface. But where does the leather come originally? Interface gets material for their sofas from long-term partners in Europe. The raw hides are tanned into leather in Galzignano, Italy. Tanning is a phase in the leather treatment process, that essentially is meant to make it even more durable, and adaptable. From Galzignano the leather travels to Isku in Lahti and from there to our table as cutting waste pieces. From here, a new life for these pieces begins.

Lovia valkoisia nahkoja

Greetings from the Heinola factory

We want to give our partners a chance to have their voice heard because without them the actual utilisation of the trash material would not become reality. Here we gathered greetings, bits and pieces from everyday life at Interface.

“Excess leather from the upholstery phase is recycled. Our leather cutters cut by hand and aims to utilise the leather hides most efficiently. Still, due to its natural shape there is always cutting waste created. From these discarded pieces you can make e.g. Lovia bags.”

- Eija Isomäki, Interface

Where can we do better?

The things told on this page all sound nice and we are proud. But still, what is next? There is always room for improvement when it comes to sustainability.

With Interface we share the same vision and dream of creating a new purpose for even the smallest shred of excess material. We receive different sizes and colours of material from them to utilise further, but there are still scraps left over that are at the moment too small for our use. Our goal in the future is to create a sort of kibble from this resource, that could function as a raw material for a newly produced recycled material for our bags.

We are also looking into testing out a new type of collaboration model with Interface, where we give out the necessary measurements for pieces and Interface does the first stage of sorting. This means less time for us to travel to Heinola and examine the pieces, saving on emissions. Achieving sustainability is always a never-ending process, making us never ready but always hungry for development. Welcome along the journey!

lovia lanseeraus some-0249

Interface

excess furniture leather

lovia-dna-interface-1

Trash material put to use

Where does the material for Lovia trash treasure come from? Interface is one of our partners in giving trash material a new life. Interface has been making furniture for living rooms in Finland since 1963 and they are known for high quality, Scandinavian design and comfort. All Interface furniture is made by hand in Heinola, always taking into consideration individual needs and wishes of their customers. Sustainability is an important value for the company, and it shines through in the quality materials used, long-lasting design features and Finnish production. Turning the tables of the fashion industry to a more sustainable direction requires concrete actions and now, excess cutting waste from furniture making is transformed into bags.

ESTABLISHED: 1963

LOCATION: HEINOLA, FINLAND

Durable bags from sofa leather

In the manufacturing of sofas cutting waste is left over, too small to utilise any more in its original purpose for furniture. Normally this resource ends up wasted, even though the material itself is brand new and high in quality. A shame, isn’t it? However, these small pieces make for perfect material for Lovia bags. The leather for sofas and other home furnishings is made to stand the test of time, and in Lovia bags these materials transform into bags that become long-lasting partners for their new owners.

Now you know how the leather ends up to Lovia from Interface. But where does the leather come originally? Interface gets material for their sofas from long-term partners in Europe. The raw hides are tanned into leather in Galzignano, Italy. Tanning is a phase in the leather treatment process, that essentially is meant to make it even more durable, and adaptable. From Galzignano the leather travels to Isku in Lahti and from there to our table as cutting waste pieces. From here, a new life for these pieces begins.

Greetings from the Heinola factory

We want to give our partners a chance to have their voice heard because without them the actual utilisation of the trash material would not become reality. Here we gathered greetings, bits and pieces from everyday life at Interface.

“Excess leather from the upholstery phase is recycled. Our leather cutters cut by hand and aims to utilise the leather hides most efficiently. Still, due to its natural shape there is always cutting waste created. From these discarded pieces you can make e.g. Lovia bags.”

- Eija Isomäki, Interface

Lovia valkoisia nahkoja

Where can we do better?

The things told on this page all sound nice and we are proud. But still, what is next? There is always room for improvement when it comes to sustainability. With Interface we share the same vision and dream of creating a new purpose for even the smallest shred of excess material. We receive different sizes and colours of material from them to utilise further, but there are still scraps left over that are at the moment too small for our use. Our goal in the future is to create a sort of kibble from this resource, that could function as a raw material for a newly produced recycled material for our bags.

We are also looking into testing out a new type of collaboration model with Interface, where we give out the necessary measurements for pieces and Interface does the first stage of sorting. This means less time for us to travel to Heinola and examine the pieces, saving on emissions. Achieving sustainability is always a never-ending process, making us never ready but always hungry for development. Welcome along the journey!

Discover treasures from excess leather