The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman is a hallmark of midcentury modern furniture design for its sleek, timeless profile. And while that hasn’t changed, something major has.
Design-savvy shoppers can now buy a more sustainable version of the iconic Herman Miller chair that’s upholstered with a new, plant-based leather look-alike made from bamboo rather than animal hide. The material innovation also marks Herman Miller’s first use of plant-based upholstery as a company.
The lounge chair launched yesterday in Herman Miller retail stores and online. It’s made with a plant-based upholstery, and is manufactured by the material innovation company von Holzhausen. Former car designer Vicki von Holzhausen founded the company in 2015 with a mission to make a vegan leather “that could rival animal leather,” in terms of durability, per the company’s website. Intrigued? You’ll want to check your credit card maximum: The lounger and ottoman boasts a hefty starting price of $6,395.
Classics, modernized
The Eames Lounge Chair was a fitting choice to introduce the new material: the the lounge chair itself got its start as a symbol of material innovation. Its base is made of molded plywood, a technique that its designers Charles and Ray Eames pioneered after they began experimenting with the craft while building parts for the U.S. Navy during WWII. The lounge chair was released for the first time in 1956, and it hasn’t needed adjustment since.
That said, Herman Miller has demonstrated a keen eye for keeping its Eames products up to date. Most recently, the company released a new version of its Eames Molded Plastic Chair made from 100% recyclable plastic, and scoured archival findings to release a new color of its Molded Plywood Lounge Chair. Now, the furniture company can add the use of plant-based materials to its list.
Lower carbon footprint, higher suitability
The creation of von Holzhausen’s bamboo material, which she calls Banbū, is similar to that other plant-based materials, like viscose or lyocell. The process starts with sourcing bamboo from its native environment in Asia. After the bamboo stalks are harvested, they’re cut into chips to create a natural pulp. From there, the bamboo’s natural fibers are spun into a kind of yarn, which is finely woven and treated with a sealing plant-based topcoat.
The resulting material, von Holzhausen says, is 83% plant-based, one third the weight of cow leather, and biodegrades in less than 250 days. Since its launch in 2020, Banbū has been used to create leather-like products for Apple and interiors for the Volkswagen Group’s SEAT vehicles.
By swapping the Eames chair’s traditional leather for an alternative derived from bamboo, the chair’s material carbon footprint can be reduced by up to 35%. According to Sean McDowell, SVP of innovation and sustainability at Herman Miller’s parent company, MillerKnoll, the brand is “actively exploring” integrating plant-based leather alternatives into other product lines. Herman Miller declined to speak to any future plans to use Banbū itself.
“Its low carbon footprint, combined with its softness, durability, scratch resistance, colorfastness, and attractive mid-tier pricing, makes it highly suitable for a wide range of products and appealing to many consumers,” McDowell says.
Less synthetic leathers, more plants
The bamboo-based material is also different from most existing vegan leathers. Vegan leather is typically made with synthetic materials like polyurethane, which is a form of plastic that requires fossil fuels to produce. Further, vegan synthetic leather is commonly criticized for cracking with wear rather than softening like animal leather.
Some designers, including von Holzhausen, are attempting to tackle both of these issues by opting to use plant-based materials instead of plastic: Mushrooms, apples, cacti, and pineapples are just a few of the plants that have already been leather-ified. Von Holzhausen chose bamboo for its leather alternative in part because it’s a highly renewable raw material—requiring minimal water to thrive—but also because its strong fibers result in a strong, stain-resistant material.
While plant-based leather alternatives are still rare in the furniture world, some other brands are also testing out their own offerings. The furniture store Gus Modern, for one, offers several different products with an apple-based leather upholstery. And, as demand for leather without animal byproducts continues to grow, it’s likely that innovative leather alternatives will only become more commonplace. Your Eames lounge could be a first seat look.