New Products and Sustainability Updates from Vitra
Vitra launches a new task chair from Erwan Bouroullec, a new desk by Ronan Bouroullec, and expanded sustainability options, including the introduction of V-foam, the world’s first economically recyclable polyurethane foam produced with BASF
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Mynt
Developed by Vitra in Switzerland
Design: Erwan Bouroullec, 2025
Mynt is a chair that brings a new way of sitting to offices, public spaces and home interiors. In office settings, Mynt takes on the home-like appeal of a universal chair, while in domestic interiors, it provides the dynamism of an office chair – thus defying conventional categorisations. With Mynt's cross-functionality and versatile form, Erwan Bouroullec and Vitra have pioneered an innovative multipurpose solution for modern needs.
The core element is its patented mechanism, which is activated by body weight and tilts forwards or backwards depending on shifts in the sitter's position – with the seat moving independently of the backrest. ‘Because it’s unsynchronised, it responds to people’s intuitive ability to explore the chair’s options. They find a way to play with it,’ says Erwan Bouroullec. The movement resistance automatically adapts to the user's weight – only the height has to be adjusted. As with cycling, climbing stairs and countless other everyday pursuits, the body remains in a state of active balance when sitting on Mynt and constantly performs smaller and larger movements – and moving while sitting is provably healthy.
The slender mechanism is an integral part of Mynt's design and plays a key role in the chair's understated, home-like aesthetic. In Erwan's words: ‘The movement has defined the aesthetics of the chair – its elegance and functional mechanism go hand in hand.’ The few other parts – seat, backrest and base – are optimised down to the last detail to suit their function and can be replaced individually as required, just like a bicycle. Mynt consists of up to 80 % recycled materials and is 99 % recyclable at the end of its product life. The seat and backrest are available in wood veneer or recycled polyamide made from 100% post-industrial sources and the variant with a four-star base can be switched between glides and castors – Mynt fulfils the relevant office standards with both versions. Upholstered covers are available for the seat and backrest. Thanks to zip fasteners, the two upholstery elements can be easily removed for cleaning or replacement – allowing Mynt to retain its fresh look and flexibly adapt to new needs.
Courier
Developed by Vitra in Switzerland
Design: Ronan Bouroullec, 2025
Courier is a testament to Ronan Bouroullec's flair for form and composition as well as his technical expertise: the desk effortlessly combines two high-quality materials, wood and aluminium, to create a distinctive yet unobtrusive whole. In Ronan's words: “I stripped everything down, until I got to something I like to call a ‘naked solution’ – just a thin wooden surface on legs. Courier provides enough surface to hold a laptop, some papers, and a screen or books.”
Courier thus joins George Nelson's Home Desk, Jean Prouvé's Compas Direction and Charles and Ray Eames's EDU in an illustrious line of aesthetically appealing objects that are both desk and sculpture. Viewed from the side, the desk's silhouette recalls a serif letter design – hence the name Courier, which is one of the best-known serif typefaces.
Meltable polyurethane foam: BASF and Vitra achieve an industry-first with V-Foam
In partnership with the German chemical company BASF, Vitra has developed the world’s first economically recyclable polyurethane foam. Vitra will gradually introduce V-Foam for all its upholstered furniture containing moulded foam from 2025.
Polyurethane foam (PU foam) is a durable material with many useful properties. Derived from fossil fuels, it is utilised extensively in numerous industries worldwide – including the medical and food sectors – as well as the furniture industry, especially as an upholstery material.
Standard PU foam is a thermosetting polymer and hardens irreversibly. Subsequent thermoforming or reshaping long proved impossible, which greatly limited opportunities for recycling. The previously available recycling methods were very energy-intensive and therefore uneconomical.
By contrast, V-Foam is 100% recyclable thanks to an innovative chemical process. It is transformed into a new polyol in an energy-efficient procedure and returned to the material cycle for use in new products. Vitra will gradually introduce V-Foam for all its upholstered furniture containing moulded foam from 2025.
Vitra expands its range of products made from recycled materials
Vitra is consistently pursuing its ecological mission with further material changes: the Tip Ton chair, supplemented by new colours, will in the future be available exclusively in the environmentally friendly RE version made from recycled post-consumer material. The iconic Uten.Silo is now also made from recycled post-industrial ABS plastic – and is called Uten.Silo RE. And finally, the filling material of various Vitra cushions will be converted to 100% recycled PET fibres or 100% recycled polyester.
- Tip Ton RE: In 2011 Vitra introduced the all-plastic Tip Ton chair developed with designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. In 2020 Vitra succeeded in producing Tip Ton RE from post-consumer recycling material – but only in the 'natural' grey tone of the processed recyclate. Vitra is now launching Tip Ton RE in a selection of additional colours. From January 2025, Vitra will phase out production of Tip Ton in primary plastic and launch Tip Ton RE in the new colours. Tip Ton RE is manufactured from a single mould without any mechanical components and is extremely durable, stackable up to four chairs and 100% recyclable.
- Uten.Silo RE: Dorothee Becker designed the practical Uten.Silo I organiser in 1969. The smaller version Uten.Silo II followed in 1970. The wall-mounted organisers feature containers in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as metal hooks and clips. They are a useful aid for bringing order to offices, kitchens, workshops, bathrooms or children's rooms. Vitra has now modified production to use exclusively post-industrial recycled ABS plastic – hence the name Uten.Silo RE. The high-quality recycling material is extremely robust and in turn also 100% recyclable. At the same time, the Uten.Silo RE colour palette was also revised with Japanese red and horizon blue joining the existing black and white versions.
- Vitra Cushions: Vitra Cushions come in a collection of various sizes. They can be used either as back cushions or for purely decorative purposes, and are suited not only to Vitra's diverse sofas and armchairs but also to benches and chairs – as well as any other seating options. The filling contains zero animal-based elements, such as down or feathers, and consists only of either recycled PET fibres or recycled polyester, which can be separated according to material at the end of the cushions' lifespan and are both 100% recyclable.