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The Environment Will Thank &New for the Jää Bench

The Jää Bench, designed by &New, was inspired by the nature of recycled plastic and its environmentally friendly nature. The off white references melting snow, and the black references the ground after a long winter. Through the design of Jää, which is a Finnish word for both “ice” and “please stay”, the two designers, Jo Wilton and Mirka Gröhn, wanted to show that recycled furniture can be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Using a mix of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastic with small steel parts, Jää is also itself fully recyclable. The PE and PP plastics are 100% recycled post consumer plastic, or rather pure waste that has been diverted from landfills.

Jää comes flat packed with plastic shapes, steel rods, spacers, and nuts. The flat pack nature of the bench means it is easy to transport and distribute around the world in simple cardboard packaging, which is very important to &New and is a big part of their overall business model. As soon as it’s assembled, Jää is ready to used indoors and outdoors as a table as well as a bench!

The Jää Bench will officially launch during the London Design Festival next month and will be on show at Mint.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.