Illy-Kartell: 400 coffee capsules for a chair (and a console) designed by Starck

A chair in 2022, an armchair in 2023, a console in 2024. An Illy coffee capsule, empty of course, becomes a piece of Kartell furniture. «It’s not a spot collaboration», say Lorenza Luti, marketing director of Kartell and Cristina Scocchia, CEO of Illy, in unison. «We are thinking regarding extending and strengthening the collaboration and making it stable».
The idea was born, it goes without saying, in front of a cup of coffee. Opposite me were Andrea Illy and Claudio Luti, the shareholders of two companies that are symbols of Made in Italy. «They wanted to do something», Lorenza Luti and Cristina Scocchia still agree, «that had the founding characteristics of our businesses: quality, innovation, sustainability». Thus was born the idea of ​​using the processing waste of Illy coffee capsules to create Kartell design objects. «Since 2018», says Lorenza Luti, «we no longer think of products that are not made with sustainable materials and processes. We use 100% recycled plastics and are experimenting a lot with bioplastics.” «Our company philosophy», says Cristina Scocchia, «is guided by sustainability and product traceability. We purchase raw materials from nine countries in difficult areas of the world, but all our coffee comes from regenerative circular agriculture. With Kartell we have a common value structure and we have leveraged that for our collaboration.”

From Trieste to Varese: loads of one hundred tons

Let’s start with the capsule. «In Trieste, in our only factory, where we do everything, from cleaning the raw material to packaging the product», says Scocchia, «the capsules are selected. The waste, the unused capsules, are packaged and sent to Kartell. We do hundred-ton loads.” «The processing of Illy-Kartell products», says Lorenza Luti, «is done in the Varese factory. The first step in the process is selecting the capsules. We discard, by hand, those of lesser quality.” Then the capsules are separated by color and inserted into the machine which crushes them and makes them secondary raw material ready to be used. The new plastic is injected into the molds and processed. The new design object will then be painted and finished. For a chair or a console, the quantity is very similar, 400 coffee capsules are needed. «We have perfected the process over time», explains Lorenza Luti. «We learned that separating the capsules by color would give us an advantage in the painting and finishing phase. But above all we understood that the design phase can help us use less raw material.”

Limited edition collection

The Re-Chair chair by Antonio Citterio and the Elegance armchair by Philippe Starck

Lorenza Luti

One year (instead of two) for a new chair

Thus from the Re-Chair chair by Antonio Citterio of 2022, to the Elegance armchair and the AI ​​Console by Philippe Starck, of 2023 and 2024 respectively, there was a work by subtraction. «The use of artificial intelligence, in the design and prototyping phase», explains Lorenza Luti, «has allowed us to halve, from two to one year, the industrialization time of a chair. Starck did a lot of refinement in the design and worked hard to make the structure more robust. Artificial intelligence has also given us more certainty regarding processing flows.” Less time, less raw material, more sustainability. Paradoxically, the more Kartell’s manufacturing process improves, the fewer Illy capsules will be needed. «It’s true», smiles Lorenza Luti, «but it’s not a problem at all. If we had them we would use many more. We had to make the three objects in the collection with Illy in a limited edition because there are few capsules.”

The idea of ​​using already used capsules to make coffee (and not just waste, empty ones) is in play. Illy and Kartell are available. «Cleaning will increase costs», says Lorenza Luti, «but we shouldn’t be scared. Now recycled plastics cost between 10 and 20% more than virgin ones, but it is a path we follow with conviction. Then there is the whole chapter of bioplastics. We already use them for small objects because there are structural problems with large ones. We are working hard to resolve them. Then we will use them on a large scale, even for large objects. There’s no going back.”