Blending the unique properties of New Zealand’s strong wool and Chinese waste rice straw, New Zealand’s textile firm, The Formary and Managing Director Bernadette Casey are in collaboration with the state-owned Chinese rice company Grand Peak (Tianjin) to develop a high quality upholstery fabric. Considering the fact that the Chinese Government has a target to use 75 per cent of rice straw waste in its five-year plan, the company reports claims that, “The blend of wool and rice straw creates a hard-wearing fabric and provides a useful solution for the waste straw which is usually burnt, affecting the air quality in China. This innovation is therefore great from a sustainability perspective”. Marketed internationally by the New Zealand firm, the fabric also possesses a high tensile, anti-bacterial and fire resistance properties of the rice straw fibre, making it perfect for curtains and carpets, besides being durable and attractive also.
