Highchair Design Uses Recycled Consumer Plastics and Cellulose Fiber

Product meets manufacturer’s commitment to sustainability and circularity

The growing emphasis on product sustainability and development of a circular plastics economy is beginning to produce results, as some OEMs, brand owners and consumers lobby for greater achievements in this area.

One company, KAOS, of Oslo, Norway, a manufacturer of children’s products, has introduced a highchair made of Circo, a compound of post-consumer recycled plastics reinforced with high-performance cellulose fiber.

Fiber Captures Carbon in a Long-Life Product

Specifying cellulose as the reinforcing fiber allows the capture of CO₂ in a long-lasting product—the highchair—whose potential lifespan is 225 years, KAOS says. “At the end of a highchair’s life, the materials can be recycled again,” as many as nine times, says Gineline Kalleberg, founder of the company.

Circo is supplied by Fortum, a clean energy company based in Espoo, Finland. The material was co-developed by the two companies for use in the highchair, in a project partly financed by the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund. In addition to its sustainability credentials, Circo meets the EN 71-3 toy safety standard, a European law that assesses the migration of certain chemicals into the body if a toy or its components are swallowed by a child.

KAOS is a premium brand that promotes sustainability and urges parents to be environmentally responsible when selecting products for their children. The company specified Circo after analyzing available recycled plastics. The material has desired properties of sustainability, durability and consistency, and Fortum is a reliable and established partner.

Highchair Promotes Sustainability and Circularity

Using Circo in the highchair promotes recycling and circularity of plastics consumer packaging, KAOS says.

The compound is formulated to withstand use in a household item that is used several times a day by young children whose touch is not always gentle. The highchair comes in several colors and is designed for aesthetics as much as for functionality, reflecting the premium positioning of the KAOS brand.

This is the first Circo application to be compliant with the demanding EN 71-3 standard. Fortum says it demonstrates the safety and versatility of the material.

“KAOS customers place high value on quality and sustainability, and this product delivers both,” says Anniina Rasmus, brand sales manager for Fortum Circo.

The highchair was launched at the Kind und Jugend fair in Cologne, Germany, in September and has attracted interest among international wholesale and hospitality firms. KAOS plans to commence commercial deliveries in early 2024.

With consistent and high quality, versatility and availability, Fortum Circo recycled plastic can be used in a variety of products and customized to meet specific needs and requirements.