is there such thing as environmentally friendly beanbags?!

toshkininny

Hello, went to Ikea yesterday, and they said that they didn't sell beanbags as they weren't environmentally friendly.

Has anyone invented an environmentally friendly beanbag yet?!

Thanks

Caterina

I suppose you could make your own with recycled clothes, cut and stitch them into the required shapes, like a patchwork, then fill with locally grown barley or oats.

Check this pattern: http://www.alternative-windows.com/beanbag.htm

Caterina

toshkininny

Thanks for that. I wonder how it would feel sitting on barley or oats, and how much it would cost to fill a beanbag with it?

Caterina

I suppose it would be fairly heavy, but not uncomfortable. Think of the wheat/oat cushions that you can put in the microwave to heat and put on your body, that's the consistency, do you know the ones I mean?

Re. cost, I suppose that a bag of 25kg oats should not be too expensive, perhaps the grade given to cattle would be even cheaper and you can always eat them when you are fed up of sitting on them - I am sure they would be edible even if they are classed as cattle food!

Caterina

IamJen

There are a bunch of places online that sell bags with recycled plastic fillings, so that's a bit less unfriendly than polystyrene. You could also try filling one yourself with those packing peanuts that are made from cornstarch. You'd have to have some sort of waterproof liner, because if they got wet, it would dissolve and be an icky mess. They are completely biodegradable and enviro-safe. I think you'd have to pack them pretty tightly to make a comfy seat, but it's a thought.

You could always stuff your beanbag with well, beans.

hannoja

Just having an 'environmentally friendly trawl' and stumbled upon this amongst others.

Popcorn might be worth a try. When I've got stuff from Lush it's been packed with popcorn. I was startled initially, then rather impressed. What a cracking idea! :T