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RIETGOED BY IRIS VEENTJER Explore these innovative projects at the Sustainable Innovations Forum in the Keyhouse in Hall 7
Designer Iris Veentjer, owner of Studio i Focus, is dedicated to innovative material research and experimental design to foster a regenerative world. Since 2018, she has created products raising awareness about environmental and social issues. The Netherlands faces significant soil subsidence and greenhouse gas emissions due to peatlands being drained for cattle grazing, which leads to plant decomposition and CO2 release. To address this, alternative agricultural methods like wetland cultivation are being explored.
A type of plant that thrives in wet conditions are cattails, the cultivation of which is currently not profitable for farmers, which is why its fibres are typically used for low-value products like insulation.
A type of plant that thrives in wet conditions are cattails, the cultivation of which is currently not profitable for farmers, which is why its fibres are typically used for low-value products like insulation. Iris’s project, RietGoed, aims to develop high-quality textiles from cattails.
With RietGoed, Iris aims to inspire broader adoption of sustainable practices and scale up textile production.
»Textiles made from cattails could potentially replace synthetic oil-based yarns. I aim to have the process from plant to fiber to product be fully biocircular. After multiple recyclings, textiles can return to the fields, contributing to peatland restoration,” she summarizes.«
Iris Veentjer
»RietGoed can be a solution to the nitrogen problem in peat meadow areas. By draining these areas, the soil sinks and nitrogen is released into the air. If we grow cattails on peat meadows in watery peat soil and make clothing from them, farmers will have the opportunity to earn money with this new crop.«
Iris Veentjer
Modularity is not a new concept. For decades, it has shaped architecture, furniture and industrial design. Applying it to soft textiles, however, opens up an entirely new discussion.
Creativity and curiosity have always been our driving force. Our work evolves through prototypes—never finished, always raising new questions about materials, processes, and possibilities.
Both the fashion and textile industry often celebrates creativity. Yet many of the industry’s creative decisions are made long before a designer ever begins designing. Colour being one of them. The thing is, by the time a designer selects yarn, someone else has already determined the available colours, sequences and combinations. Choice exists, but only within boundaries.
“Through hands-on experimentation, I explore the potential of new surfaces and alternative forms of leather, aiming to reconnect human life with the natural world as an interconnected fabric.”
