Design Ecology alumni Sebastian Fältström wins with innovative wool

Arts Thread, a digital platform for emerging art and design students and graduates, asked 200 of the world's leading creatives to judge this years entries in the competition Global Creative Graduade Showcase with its 27 categories. Sebastian Fältström's work was considered the most innovative regarding the use of Swedish wool waste and how it could help cleaning harbours from from oil and heavy metals, pollutants that spread throughout the water column and threaten marine ecosystems. Leakage from boats degrades water quality and calls for new, effective and environmentally friendly methods.

In collaboration with wool experts, Fältström developed Macro Fibers, a product made from repurposed wool from the meat industry, of which around 1,000 tons are discarded annually in Sweden. Wool can absorb up to 30 times its weight in oil, and the product can be cleaned and reused multiple times, extending its lifecycle and reducing waste. The absorbents are designed with inspiration from nudibranch warning colours and equipped with scale-like structures that increase the active surface area for uptake. Congratulations!

Macro fibers – Global Creative Graduate Show

Sebastian Fältström – Konstfack Degree Exhibition 2025