The Eames Plastic Chairs, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1950, utilised glass-fibre reinforced polyester resin after experimenting with plywood and sheet aluminium to create a seat tailored to the human body’s contours. It became the world’s first mass-produced plastic chair. Beginning in 2024, Vitra will manufacture the shell from recycled plastic sourced from Germany’s ‘Yellow Bag’ (Gelber Sack) collection program, and the chair will be fully recyclable at the end of its life.
The composition of the recycled material results in tiny pigment specs on the shell. Photo © Vitra. Vitra