British designer Inghua Ting weaves end-of-line seatbelt fabric into this playful “Ting Sling”. Though it would brighten any interior, the hammock, made from life-saving textile, is more than durable enough for outdoor use. Following her graduation from the Royal College of Art, Inghua worked in Japan developing futuristic fabrics. However, working at the forefront of fabric technology led her to considering sustainable issues, and the challenge of designing and producing a desirable, luxury product from recycled materials.

When I saw the Ting Sling at ICFF, I doubted that the recycled seatbelts would provide the same “sinking-in” feeling that makes a standard hammock so comfortable; they're designed to restrain you, after all. After actually using it, I was surprised by how soft the material was, and while you can't sink into this hammock in quite the same way, the woven seatbelts were very comfortable; it made me wish I were swinging in a cool forest instead of the Javits center.

Visit Ting's site for more unexpected uses of materials that would otherwise be tossed, like these tiles made from old leather belts.

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