15 Jun Introducing the 111 Navy Chair™

Most of the column inches in this blog are devoted to product news from our European manufacturers, so in this post we’re going to jump across the Atlantic and talk about a very interesting recent collaboration between two iconic companies from the United States.

In 2006, soft drink giant Coca-Cola came to renowned aluminium furniture producer Emeco with a proposal. Their new recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina was processing thousands of plastic bottles a day and they were looking for ways to show the value of recycled plastic.

Coke asked Emeco to make their classic aluminium Navy Chair™ out of a new, unproven formulation of rPET (Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate – recycled plastic bottles). In Coke-Speak, “The goal of the 111 Navy project was to alter consumer behaviour by illustrating the value of rPET with beautifully designed and everyday products – ultimately encouraging more recycling.”

Since its launch last year, 111 Navy Chair™ sales have kept over 14 million PET bottles out of landfills – a wonderful achievement – and here in the UK, the 111 Navy Chair™ is featured at the Design Museum in London until the end of July to mark Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary.

The new 111 Navy Chair™ is available in six colours: Red, Snow White, Flint Grey, Grass Green, Persimmon and Charcoal. Red, Snow and Flint Grey can be used outdoors. The chair has a distinctive, “velvet” finish that is scratch resistant and each chair contains at least 111 plastic Coke bottles and carries a 5-Year structural guarantee.

Image source: emecowithcoke.com