Continental brews up coffee-based upholstery

In addition to producing tyres and automotive components, Continental has busied itself of late making upholstery fabrics from coffee grounds. This makes the substance remaining after Europeans brew more than 33 billion cups of coffee each year a potentially valuable raw material.

Continental has developed a means of using these leftovers as a sustainable raw material for its surface products, such as in the upholstery fabric skai VyP Coffee. The grounds produced when making coffee are processed before being incorporated into the material’s production along with other recycled and natural elements that are added to the mix. In total, more than 65 per cent of the conventional chemical raw materials that would otherwise be used to produce skai VyP Coffee are replaced by natural and recycled substances.

The upholstery fabric uses laif technology to give it breathable qualities and ensures optimum seating comfort. Continental considers the material best suited to use in hotels, cafés, restaurants and offices.

Sustainability & design

This coffee-based fabric is but one of several solutions that the surface experts at Continental have up their sleeves. “Our sustainable product innovations have a lot to offer the hospitality industry,” emphasises Christelle Perico-Darras, head of the Hospitality, Healthcare and Public Areas sector within Continental’s team of surface specialists. “And we are also aware of our responsibilities here; we are substituting fossil materials with natural and renewable ones, minimising CO2 emissions along the entire value chain and focusing on long-lasting products and solutions. And all without losing sight of the design aspect.”