-By AnnMarie Marano

An import of the best kind—from a palm tree— is starting to gain visibility in the design industry. Manufacturers and product designers of many realms are taking cues from our friends across the pond by incorporating coconut fibers from the outside shell into a variety of products,

"I recommend people use this product like they would use wood," says Matthew Karlin, vice president of sales at Nemo Tile in New York, providers of Ekobe coconut floor and wall tiles. "It's more fire retardant than regular wood would be." The shell of the coconut, which would otherwise be a waste product of the food processing industry, is used to create the tiles. No chemicals are used, and they're resistant to organic decomposition and mechanical wear.

Karlin describes coming across an exhibitor at Cersaie a few years ago with sheets of coconut. "They had these grand 4,500-sq.-ft. booths, and one guy had a school desk in a corner with coconut sheets that he said were produced in Brazil and sold in Portugal. They were trying to bring it to Italy and Russia," Karlin explains. "We decided we would bring it in as a wood-type hard surface. It's been about two and half years since we've been stocking the material, and we've been selling it ever since. It's a very niche material."

According to Karlin, there are great benefits to using coconut tile, and Ekobe has broadened his company's product horizons. What started with just the use of the outside coconut shell has expanded into 30 different colors and up to five different finishes of Ekobe. "It's completely green," he insists. "It's fused together with an organic resin that keeps the coconut intact. You never have to use grout. It looks like a continuous piece of wood." He notes that the sheets of coconut Nemo has been stocking also can be used for headboards and furniture—and it isn't just limited to floor or wall tile.

Luis Eslava, founder of Luis Eslava Studio in Valencia, Spain, has been working with coconut fibers for years. He recently developed a chair that utilizes the fibers compressed with latex. "This material has been used for specific purposes, such as upholstery, in mattresses, etc., but always as a secondary, covered object, never as the main character," he says. When compressed with latex, the used part of the coconut is quite resistant to damage and is environmentally friendly.

"The basic idea was to give a more natural and less synthetic look to our products," says Marco Butturini, CEO of Artigo rubber flooring, another company that has incorporated coconut fibers into its tiles. "Coconut fiber was chosen because of its consistency and natural elasticity that helps it to withstand mixing with the other ingredients being kind of powderized. The next problem was that the fibers tended to pack in tufts, and it took a brilliant idea from our technicians and a lot of testing to find the proper way to mix it."

Butturini says the production process includes several ingredients, such as natural and synthetic rubber, reinforcing minerals, pigments, and the coconut fibers, which are all mixed together. The fibers are purchased from India and Sri Lanka. The product has been tested in accordance with European fire regulations and proven to attain the same top class fire rating received on other Artigo products.

Butturini also notes that he doesn't find any downfalls with the product, while Karlin warns that it is extremely important to follow the installation instructions properly with their Ekobe coconut tile. "If you don't follow the installation instructions, the product might warp off the wall. It's an organic material, so it reacts differently with different organic materials."