Plants are a great way to clean the air inside a home, though we understand they’re not for everyone. So how about a pair of curtains instead?
The idea that a curtain could somehow act as an air purifier may at first sound a little crazy, but IKEA says it has created such a product and will launch it next year.
The furniture giant is offering few details about its new curtain — called “Gunrid” — but describes the fabric as having a “mineral-based surface treatment.” In the video (above), IKEA product developer Mauricio Affonso adds that it works in a similar way to plant photosynthesis, explaining that when the fabric comes into contact with light, it breaks down common indoor pollutants.
This suggests it could be something like titanium dioxide, a photocatalyst that has been used before in various scenarios to tackle air pollution.
IKEA says it created the technology behind the air cleanser by working with universities in Europe and Asia, as well as IKEA suppliers and innovators. We’ve reached out to the company for more information on its pollution-busting curtain and will update if we hear back.
“Besides enabling people to breathe better air at home, we hope that Gunrid will increase people’s awareness of indoor air pollution, inspiring behavioral changes that contribute to a world of clean air,” Lena Pripp-Kovac, IKEA’s head of sustainability, said in a release. “Gunrid is the first product to use the technology, but the development will give us opportunities for future applications on other textiles.”
IKEA says that with World Health Organization data suggesting air pollution causes as many as eight million deaths a year globally, it’s committed to doing what it can to improve the quality of the air we breathe by actively reducing pollutants and enabling people to clean the air in their homes.
Other green efforts from IKEA include its Better Air Now! initiative, which creates products out of rice straw, a rice industry byproduct that would otherwise be burned.
We’ll have to wait to see if IKEA’s unique curtain can effectively clean up indoor air, but in the meantime, if you’re keen to tackle pollution inside your home and don’t have time for plants, then Digital Trends has researched an array of devices that can do the job.
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