Modern wool production relies on chemical treatments and industrial processes that distance people from the material’s origins and weigh heavily on the environment.
In the Netherlands, this strain is especially visible: nearly one million tons of wool are discarded or burned each year, while shepherds are forced to sell it at a negative price because the cost of cleaning dirty wool exceeds its value.
Wool Journey looks back to an ancient fermentation method once used to clean wool naturally, reviving a practice that links sustainability with tradition.
Through experiments with different water sources and organic waste materials such as coffee grounds, lemon peels, and onion skins, the project explores how forgotten knowledge can shape new approaches to material care.
Working with raw fibers and observing their slow transformation became both a design method and a ritual.
Wool Journey is not only a study in efficiency but a sensory experience where touch, smell, and time create a renewed connection between material, culture, and ecology.
5 different fermentation jars -(Left to Right) Coffee, red-onion peels, natural, Lemon, Egg shells
Chosen method for future appliances (Natural)
Historical Roots: Fermentation has long shaped food, agriculture, and textiles. Its ecological benefits offer an alternative to energy-intensive modern wool processing.
Material Behavior: Tests compared water sources (tap, canal, ocean) and waste materials (coffee grounds, lemon peels, onion peels, eggshells), studying cleaning efficiency, pH impact, and fiber qualities.
Cultural & Economic Dimensions: Insights into Dutch wool production reveal ecological costs, economic challenges, and untapped opportunities for farmers and craftspeople.
Early Neolithic jars, with high flaring necks and rims, from Jiahu (Henan province, China), ca. 6,000-5,500 B.C.E.↗︎
“Washing Europe’s wool is becoming less frequent, as it is a very dirty process using chemicals…..China does everything now.”↗︎
Methodology: Wool samples were fermented under controlled conditions, observing changes in texture, cleanliness, and color.
Scaling raw wool for experiment
Scaling onion peels (same have been done to other home waste)
Collecting canal water / Eindhoven
Ocean water collection
Tap water jar withot any waste added
Red onion peels
Coffee ground
Eggs & Lemon peels
Sustainability: Fermentation avoids chemical cleaners, reduces carbon footprint, and supports local farmers with low-cost, low-tech solutions.
Mental & Sensory Dimensions: Material tactility, smell, and transformation processes invite new sensory relationships with production systems.
Future work explores scaling fermentation for urban textile labs, eco-friendly wool products, and educational workshops linking material craft, agriculture, and ecological care.
“Wool Journey taught me that sustainability is not only technological innovation but also the revival of forgotten knowledge. Where biology, materiality, and culture converge.”