Designer Alkesh Parmar of Studio Arp designed a lampshade made of sewn together pieces of orange peel.

Orange peels are a common waste product in the global food industry. With his project APeel, Parmar aims to find a solution for this problem. The designer has done extensive research about the material, finding several applications.

One of them, APeel Skin, sees orange peel, just before it completely dries, as a leather alternative, becoming pliable and stretchy. This window of elasticity can vary depending on the how old the orange was before it was peeled, the type of citrus fruit and its environment. When the peel dries, it becomes extremely tough. Using a low-tech craft process, the pieces of peel are stitched together to create design objects, such as a lampshade.

In addition to using the peel as a whole, Parmar also created composite materials using ground up dried rind, as well as a paper-like material.

Photos: Studio Arp