Robin Hood and the joyful students

"In a way we want to take from the rich and give to the poor”.

The quote could be right out of the Sherwood Forest but in fact it was spoken during the presentation at the Dansk Wilton Design Award. Because it seems absurd that thousands of squarefeet of specially designed wool carpets that cover the floors of luxurious cruise ships are removed and burned long before they are worn out. Why not pass them on someone else?

Based on that starting point around 50 fashion and textile design students from Design School Kolding competed for the Dansk Wilton Design Award focusing on how to redesign old carpets into new products or concepts. Two groups stood out. One had developed a concept based on the idea of involving the local community in developing new products. The other had designed My Carpet, a soft piece of furniture that children can stack and lounge in. Finally, a group of students were invited to finish their project GOOD-GOOD, which is about reusing the old wool carpets as foot soles.

- Generally, we’re quite impressed with the high level of the students. They have exceeded our expectations, especially with their large commercial understanding, says Søren Sonne, CEO at Dansk Wilton.

140,000 sheep
The award has an obvious purpose. Every year, Dansk Wilton uses the wool of 140,000 sheep to design carpets. A typical order for a cruise ship is 50,000 squaremetres and all carpets are woven from 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. Using that much wool has several advantages. It is good for the interior climate, it is flame retardant and in case of fire it does not generate toxic fumes. Last but not least it is durable. But even if a carpet is not worn out until after 20 or 30 years, it is usually removed an burned after three-five years.

The students had 48 hours to solve the challenge and there were many great ideas for reuse: Sound insulation in anything from open office spaces to specialised sound studios, new outerwear, and a combined backpack and hammock for refugees, to mention a few. The best projects were awarded DKK 5000 each.

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