In Finland, an ecological dress was created from the wood of a 17th-century ship that sank over 300 years ago

Key points

• Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have created an ecological dress from the wood of a 17th-century cargo ship that sank over 300 years ago.
• The material used was fragments of a 1684 ship found in 2019 under a parking lot in Oulu.
• The project was implemented on the principle of zero-waste production – two identical dresses were created without seams.
• The wood was processed into cellulose pulp, and then into yarn using the Ioncell technology with a non-toxic solvent.
• Patterns on the fabric were generated by AI based on the natural texture of the wood, without dyeing or bleaching.
• The products will be showcased at the Tomorrow’s Wardrobe exhibition at the Oulu Art Museum.

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have created an ecological dress from the wood of a 17th-century cargo ship that sank over 300 years ago, reported in Dezeen.

The material used was the remains of the ship found in 2019 under a parking lot in the city of Oulu. The project was implemented on the principle of zero-waste production – from the prepared material, two identical dresses were created without seams.

To make the fabric, the wood fragments were sawn, cleaned of contaminants, disinfected, and processed into a high-cellulose pulp.

Then it was converted into yarn using the Ioncell technology, which breaks down the material into a polymer using a non-toxic solvent.

The finished garment was decorated with abstract patterns generated by AI based on the texture of the wood. The fabric was not dyed or bleached, so the dresses retained their natural brown hue.

The initiator of the project was marine archaeologist Minna Koivikko. She proposed processing the wood of the 1684 ship, as not all of its fragments could be preserved in their original form.

The researcher notes that this approach brings underwater cultural heritage into people’s everyday lives.

The dresses will be showcased at the Tomorrow’s Wardrobe exhibition at the Oulu Art Museum.

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