fullSPRING
In collaboration with Delyth Fetherston-Dilke, Rootfull explores a highly innovative and sustainable approach to binding wool into workable fillings for furniture by utilizing the natural growth of plant roots. This unique method not only creates functional and eco-friendly materials but also actively addresses the pressing environmental challenges faced by the furniture industry today.
Living root systems bind with wool
Currently, in the UK, almost all furniture is made using a foam filling. Foam is a petrochemical, and due to its treatment with chemical flame retardants, it cannot be recycled. Petrochemical foams are damaging to our health and take hundreds of years to biodegrade. Moving away from non-renewable source materials, such as foam needs to be a priority for the furniture industry.
With FullSPRING, we explore how British Wool can be effectively bound into upholstery filling, aiming for a material that is fully grown in the UK. Our goal is to use natural fibres that are entirely biodegradable, and additionally, we seek to reduce British wool as a waste product.
Wool’s natural fire resistance makes it an excellent choice of material for upholstery; it meets the stringent UK fire safety standards without requiring toxic chemical flame retardants. The challenge is to bind wool into a workable sheet form for upholstery without using polyester or other non-bio-based binders. Plant roots with natural elasticity grow through the wool and bind it into predetermined cushion designs.
Roots have a dynamic plasticity, adapting and changing to their environment
Living root systems bind with coir, wool, linen, cotton, silk, hessian, seaweed, algae, bio-plastics, felt, metals, paper, agricultural waste materials, animal fur and even human hair to form an array of unique composites, each exhibiting distinct and varied material properties.
fullSPRING is the result of a two-year research project in collaboration with Delyth Fetherston-Dilke
Supported by British Wool.
[Published 25.10.25]