Klädindustrin idag bara växer och växer, i snitt konsumerar varje svensk 15kg kläder per år och varje år slängs ca 8kg kläder per person. I Sverige köps det kläder för drygt 71 miljarder kronor per år. Handlandet och den ständiga efterfrågan utsätter både miljön och människorna på jorden för stora påfrestningar. Med varje klädesplagg kommer det även en galge som antingen har tillverkats i plast, metall eller trä. Projektidén var att ta fram ett förslag på en klädhängare i materialet DuraPulp. Vidare också att ta ställning till om det går att ersätta en sådan kommersiell produkt som plastgalgen med en galge i DuraPulp och vad det skulle innebära framför allt för miljön. / Today the clothing industry is just growing and growing, in average every swede consumes 15kg clothing a year and every year 8kg clothes is thrown. In Sweden clothes is purchased for around 71 billion swedish kronor a year. The shopping and the constant demand subjects great strain on both the environment and the humans on the earth. With every garments a hanger is included which is made of either plastic, metal or wood. The idea of the project was to come up with a proposition of a hanger made of the material DuraPulp. Also to take a stand wether it is possible to replace such a commercial product like the plastic hanger with a hanger made of DuraPulp and what that would mean. DuraPulp is a relatively new material from lab research and it has the same characteristics as plastic. What sepa- retes the materials is that DuraPulp is made from paper pulp with the unique binding agent PLA compared to plastic which is a product from oil. With heat and pres- sure the binding agent is activated and encloses the fibers so the material is percieved and acts just like plastic. The project has been executed in cooperation with the clothing company H&M which has provided information and knowledge in their work with hangers. The company Södra has also contributed with knowledge and experi- ence around DuraPulp. Costumers and clerks in shops around Gävle center has been interviewed on their experience and also wishes around hangers. The project resulted in a hanger in DuraPulp and alu- minium with the appropriate sale concept. The project has focused on making a clear environmental profile of the hanger based on the interviews and also to strengthen the company brand. The sale concept has been formed according to required demands and abilities. The DuraPulp hanger has through a simpler life cycle analysis, with the projects interpretation of the real- ity, been compared with a plastic hanger. This has been done to visualize every step from cradle to grave and to illustrate the difference though an environmental point of view.

Some mechanical properties of DuraPulp, a bio-based, bio-degradable composite made from polylactic acid (PLA) and pulp fibers, were determined. Focus was put on the conditions during productions whereby three different press times were studied. Additionally, two different material compositions (PLA to fiber ratios) were used. Uniaxial tensile tests with two different load rates, one and 50 mm/min, were performed. An increase in maximum strength and E-modulus of DuraPulp was observed by increasing the press time, while PLA content decreased the maximum strength and E modulus.

The purpose of the work is the determination of flexural properties for thebiocomposite Durapulp. The study includes laborative tests on Durapulp andreference materials, commonly used in the building sector. Stiffness and strength of Durapulp show that it has the potential as a replacement for conventional wood-based materials.