Wearing wood and smelling of tree. A slightly boyish fantasy that tastes like ‘Jungle Book’ and Nordic sagas. Romantic, of course, but a little wild, you may say.

And yet now it’s possible; not just wearing wood, but also covering cars and furniture with it. Thanks to an all-Italian project born of two minds, those of Marcello and Marta Antonelli, father and daughter; she is fashion designer, he is a former executive of textile companies and in 2011, after years of research, they managed to patent a processing method that makes the wood malleable, soft and very thin like a fabric. A product as natural as innovative, renamed Ligneah®, which is already in fourth place in the list of materials used for textile production and which gave its name to the sustainable brand that, after the last restyling of 2014, changed to Ood.

Ligneah – the fabric from the wood

A brain challenge therefore, but come from the heart. The basic idea was, as Marta says, to find an ecological and sustainable substitute for leather, that respects the environment and does not exploit the animals. And according to the range of products and models offered in the online shop of Ood there is no doubt: they made it. The accessories are selected and original: bracelets, key rings, bags and clutch are characterized by essential, futuristic and elegant design, for which you can choose among different essences, which are not fragrances but types of trees and textures inspired in all respects to the typologies of animal skin. Snake, crocodile, fish, to which they have nothing to envy. Fortunately, I would add.

Ood bracelets

The revolution is just at the beginning, apparently. In fact, Ligneah® is a patented brand that Marta and Marcello offer to all fashion and design companies interested in a commercial policy that is also sustainable. The applications would be many: from furnishing to cars to leather goods. A completely natural and very efficient innovation from a production point of view. In fact, from a single tree, 400 square meters of veneer are obtained, that is, of workable material. The skin of a calf, just to understand, measures about 3.5. That of a crocodile 4, of a python 2.5.

Ligneah® – fabric like leaves

Impressive numbers that do not illustrate the true advantage of an ecological conversion. “In my opinion – Marcello points out – saying that with a tree you make 400 accessories and that with a crocodile you make 20, with a calf 25, with a python 10, it makes no sense. The important thing is to understand that consumerism can cause damage and that the discriminating factor is the environmental impact “. Beyond a purely economic analysis. “We – continued Marcello – have chosen the virtuous circle of the circular economy, of the recovery and of the zero impact“.

The use of circular forests, that is, managed in a sustainable way, an obligatory practice  for the production of wood for a few years, ensures the certification of the raw material, which is constantly renewed so as not to create imbalances, neither ecological, nor market. Thanks to an agreement with Tree Nation, moreover, for every product sold by Ood, a tree is planted in Africa.

The only doubt that remains is that on processing. The catch could be there: chemistry. But no. The procedure is exclusively mechanical. I’ll keep it short: the wood, attached to cotton, is thrown thick and thin, so as to create an endless series of tiny furrows that make it extremely ductile. The process ends with a sort of bath in a fireproof and ecological mixture.

Ood_Italy bag

Of course, the range of clothing is still in its infancy, but the premises leave us hopeful. We keep an eye on it.

 

 

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