Paper Clothes: How A Swedish Research Project Is Creating Sustainable Fabric From Paper

By Alva Nyblom

Have you ever dressed up as a mummy for Halloween, wearing at least two rolls of toilet paper wrapped around every inch of your body, making it impossible to move or sit or, you know, visit the toilet? That’s how I would imagine what wearing paper would feel like. But not anymore.

A research project called Forest Fabrics is taking place at the University of Borås, Sweden. This three-year study is a collaboration between several already established Swedish companies who are created a sustainably produced fabric, made from paper.

”We have succeeded to make yarn out of paper, and some pilot garments,” says Tor Ahlbom of Svenskt Konstsilke, one of the collaborators behind the project and the company behind the actual yarn making. As of now, only pilot garments have been made – and for special occasions, as in when one of the flag bearers wore a dress made from an early prototype of the paper fabric at the Nobel prize dinner in 2017 – with great results, Tor Ahlbom tells me. ”The texture is almost denim-like, and I use and wash my jacket just as I would with a regular denim jacket. We have succeeded with what we wanted so far.”

Clothing made of paper might sound odd, but it’s not a new phenomenon. In the 1960s, American brands like Mars Hosiery produced paper dresses that sold as fast as Old Céline at Vestiaire Collective. It perfectly suited the era of consumerism and the optimistic, ”who cares” spirit of the ’60s. The trend eventually died out, since the dresses were impractical and uncomfortable, not to mention the obvious fact – unsustainable.

The big difference between the not-so-long-lived paper dresses from then and the new fabric produced in Borås today, is first and foremost the sustainability. ”Viscose is also made from tree fibres,” says Tor Ahlbom, ”but requires a vast amount of foul chemicals in the process. Our product does not.” Nor does the forest fabric require as much water as, say, cotton. Anna Berglund, one of two coordinators of the project, tells me that as the trees are growing naturally in the Swedish forest, no artificial watering – or use of chemicals – is needed. ”The forest is a natural part of Sweden, and so we don’t need to use as much water or chemicals as the cotton production.” 

The process of making the Forest Fabric begins with Swedish grown trees, the paper’s main component, which later can be coloured. This supports the paper industry as well, as the digital revolution weakened the demand on paper. Svenskt Konstsilke will then transform the paper into a yarn which, when woven or knitted, composes the fabric. Local and sustainable – what’s not to like? ”Nothing, really,” Anna Berglund says. ”Apart from it being a challenge to understand how to make and use the fabric in the best way, as always when creating a new product. That’s why it is a research project.”

There is already an interest for the finished product. House of Dagmar, a Swedish brand with a sustainable profile, is one of the collaborators behind the project, and are working to see how the fabric can be used in their clothes. ”Since it’s a bit rough at this time, it is not yet suitable for making t-shirts or undergarments,” Anna Berglund says, ”but it might be well off as a coat.”

Forest Fabric has also generated interest amongst decoration companies. ”It is durable and more sustainable than other fabrics” says Anna Berglund. “If we could substitute the cotton in interior products for example, when a fabric has to be more sturdier rather than cottony soft, that would be so much better for the environment.”