CARRIED A TONNE OF PECORINO
THROUGH THE ALPS AND NOW YOU
all travel
Every single-use pallet begins its life on the road, transporting goods through cities, countries and continents. This is also the case for the 500 or so disposable pallets that accumulate in the fulfilment centre at Möbel Ehrmann every month and then have to be disposed of – until now. When their journey ends here, tutto gives them a new meaning – from a fleeting existence in global trade to a permanent place in your home.
The disposable pallet
Unlike Euro pallets, which circulate within a functioning deposit system, disposable pallets are discarded after a single use. Disposable pallets are used for various reasons – firstly because many products do not fit on standardised Euro pallets and secondly because they are often the cheaper solution for logistics companies. As a result, they usually end up in the waste stream after just one transport—a system that wastes a lot of resources. This is exactly where tutto comes in.
The raw material
Disposable pallets are produced from various softwoods, predominantly spruce or pine, occasionally also Douglas fir. Although these softwoods have a bad reputation in Europe due to the widespread monocultures, they are very versatile.
Nevertheless, millions of disposable pallets are disposed of every year. Some of these are incinerated, even though wood as a fuel is demonstrably not climate-friendly: fine dust and greenhouse gases are produced, whilst the bound CO2 is released directly. Furthermore, wood has a comparatively low calorific value.
It is best to store the CO₂ in the wood for as long as possible - for example by processing it further - as is the case with tutto. This extends the lifespan of the wood and the CO2-storage is retained. At the same time, valuable material is reused without having to cut down new trees.
Second Life in Landau
The first tutto was created in 2022 – a stool carefully crafted from dismantled pallet wood. By gluing 32 planed and dressed slats together, a robust piece of wood is created that forms the leg and seat. Only a few nail holes are reminiscent of the rudimentary look of the disposable pallet. An honest piece of furniture that does not hide its origins. Its special mortise and tenon joint requires no additional screws, nails or brackets and makes the construction method visible.
When producing the tuttos, we focus on resource conservation, regionality and inclusion. They are manufactured in inclusive workshops in the Southern Palatinate. They travel less than 100 kilometres to become tutto furniture.
Their design also embodies sustainability in many respects: timeless design, with a construction designed to maximise resource efficiency. The tuttos are made exclusively from 70 mm wide and 15 mm thick boards - exactly the dimensions that can be obtained from a pallet. As little waste as possible, maximum utilisation - this applies to all furniture in the tutto series. Robustly constructed and glued using only non-toxic white glue, every tutto promises a long service life. It is easy to maintain and repair - a genuine design object that goes far beyond classic pallet upcycling and will last for generations.
