Jun 01, 2026
Addendum to the CellFormDesign project
Demonstrator clothes hanger
The development of bio-based coat hanger prototypes was the focus of the CellFormDesign project. The aim was to create demonstrators that illustrate customer-specific requirements such as branding, coloring and design on the one hand and show the potential of a natural fiber-based manufacturing technology on the other.
The project name CellFormDesign already describes the methodological approach: a new concept for the production of clothes hangers from fiber-based monomaterials was developed over the three development stages of material design, production design and hanger design.
Material design
One focus of the project was on the preparation and processing of regionally available hop fibers of different qualities. These were combined with other biogenic raw materials, including pulp from Euroshreds (ES - recycled banknotes) and pine sulphate pulp (KISA).
The material concept shows that a high degree of regionality, seasonality and flexibility in the selection of biogenic raw materials is possible. The combination of various natural fibers from agricultural residues and secondary recycling opens up new avenues for resource-conserving and economically efficient material production. In conjunction with local waste paper recycling cycles, this creates a highly efficient, universally applicable and biocircular material system that is suitable not only for clothes hangers but also for other dimensionally stable products.
Production design
FibreForming technology was developed as a thermo-press-based process in two variants for the production of the clothes hangers:
- FibreForming nonwoven process for processing non-woven fibers in semi-dry form
- FibreForming suspension process for processing fiber suspensions in wet form
Both processes were tested in practice during the course of the project. At the end of the project, demonstrators of different fiber mixtures and material combinations were available. These make the key parameters of the manufacturing methods visible and form a sound basis for further production-related development steps.
FibreForming-Suspension process steps
Hanger design
In the area of hanger design, both material-specific and function-oriented variants were developed. The focus here was on the key requirements for quality, stability, feel and appearance.
The interplay of material and production technology made it possible to design prototypes that are not only functionally convincing, but also offer a high experience value for end users. Natural surfaces, a pleasant feel, sensory quality and a visible ecological value characterize the aesthetics of the CellFormDesign hanger.
Evaluation of the demonstrators
In the project, demonstrators were produced from three material approaches:
- Hop/KISA (50/50 mixed fiber concept)
- ES/KISA (50/50 mixed fiber concept from recycled banknotes)
- KISA (100 % fiber monomaterial)
The evaluation was based on technical tests and sensory criteria such as stability, look, feel and smell. The grading ranged from 1 = very good to 6 = unsatisfactory.
The overall scores of the tested variants were: 1.6 for Hop/KISA, 1.8 for ES/KISA and 2.4 for KISA.
This means that all tested variants achieved ratings in the "good to very good" range - an outstanding result and strong evidence of the potential of the developed concept.
Three models with hop, euroshreds and pine pulp
Environmental impact, recycling
A complete comparative life cycle assessment is not yet possible at the current stage of development. For an initial assessment, the values for cumulative energy consumption (CED) and greenhouse gas emissions for the CellFormDesign hangers were therefore determined and compared with wooden hangers and hangers from MAWA's C-Cycle production series made from bio-based plastics.
The wooden hanger performed best in terms of both CED values and greenhouse gas emissions. The CellFormDesign hanger came second in both categories.
However, a differentiated picture emerges for recycling: While the wooden bracket can only be thermally recycled, the CellFormDesign and C-Cycle brackets can also be recycled if a collection system is established.
Conclusion
The FibreForming technology further developed in the project - both in the nonwoven and suspension process - enables the production of mechanically stable, sensory convincing and aesthetically high-quality demonstrators.
The wide range of materials that can be used, from monofiber to multifiber solutions, creates additional scope for the regional and sustainable use of raw materials. The combination of stability, natural feel and neutral odor balance shows promising market potential for bio-based clothes hangers and other dimensionally stable products, also from a sustainability perspective.
Background
Molded fiber casting is a long-established technology for producing simple bio-based packaging from waste paper. Until now, however, the resulting products have mostly been limited to simple geometries and low strengths.
In the Vacuum Fiber Mould project, this technology was further developed in a targeted manner at the TU Dresden, Chair of Wood Technology and Wood-Based Bioeconomy, so that complex molded bodies can now also be produced.
MAWA GmbH has built on this level of development. The company produces clothes hangers made of metal, wood and plastic and was looking for innovative manufacturing processes that could be used to process bio-based raw materials in particular. This led to the CellFormDesign project, a collaboration between MAWA GmbH and the Chair of Wood Technology and Wood-Based Bioeconomy at TU Dresden.
The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) via the project management agency Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR). The final report is available at fnr.de under the funding codes 2222NR019A and 2222NR019B.
Technical contact:
Chair of Wood Technology and Wood-Based Bioeconomy
Sebastian Siwek