Grass

Grass Fur

Faux fur, once hailed as an ethical alternative to animal exploitation and slaughter, has revealed its environmental and ethical challenges. Typically crafted from materials like acyclic or polyester, it is a significant contributor to microplastic pollution. Furthermore, the production process relies heavily on artificial dyes and chemical additives, which threaten marine ecosystems and pose health risks, especially for workers in developing countries.

Grass Fur offers a transformative solution. Crafted from barley grass native to North America and dyed using traditional natural dyeing techniques in Mexico. This plant-based materials and approach provide an ethically compelling alternative that transcends biodegradability. By integrating ecological and social responsibility, Grass Fur establishes a model for sustainable cycles in design and production.

Each Grass Fur project captures the fleeting beauty of nature while provoking deeper questions: How should we utilise nature? It is truly better to create things that do not compose? How should we live, and what should we create and consume? By addressing these questions, Grass Fur challenges us to reflect on the attitudes and responsibilities we must embrace in the context of modern consumer culture shaped by mass production and over-consumption.

Making process

Freshly gathered stalks were carefully prepared—scoured and mordanted with oak galls—before being transformed through traditional Mexican natural dyeing methods. Indigo and cochineal, two integral resources of Mexico’s cultural identity, are intricately woven into the works and evolved into a series of artworks, combining dyed grass with bioplastic, clay, and textile techniques.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.