1. Can you share the origin story of Lingrove, which has established itself as a pioneer in sustainable materials? 

Our story started in 2010 in the workshop of Blackbird Guitars. A serial entrepreneur and committed environmentalist, Joe Luttwak set a team challenge: let’s make a guitar with the performance of carbon fiber and the sound of old wood – without cutting a single tree or using any toxic inputs. He knew that there had to be a better way. 

And years later, we brought ekoa® to market, first in our musical instruments.

After receiving thousands of inquiries from designers who wanted to use our healthy, natural fiber composites, we developed ekoa® eco-veneers and panels, enabling architects, designers, CMF professionals, and product designers to easily integrate renewable materials and products into their own designs. We spun out Lingrove to serve the A&D and green mobility industry with ultra-sustainable products.

ekoa® can replace wood, vinyl, metals, and plastics in interior applications – from walls to ceilings, cabinetry and millworks, to dashboards in vehicles, and so on – with a low-carbon, clean air product that delivers a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel. By reverse-engineering the extraordinary strength of old-growth wood, we invented a proprietary formulation and scalable product platform that turns waste and rapidly renewable plants into high performance products.

Using renewable non-wood products like ekoa® instead of wood and petroleum-based plastics helps to protect rainforest resources. With our sustainable eco-veneers, we offer the luxury look of natural products, created from a product that is harvested every 90 days, instead of 90 years for a hardwood tree. 

2. Flax fibers play a crucial role in Lingrove’s products. What makes flax so special?

More than just a household superfood, flax is a superplant transforming interiors and architectural industries globally. 

Innovators in the architecture and design industries have long sought to shift to renewable and nontoxic resources. Now the challenge is in finding the right high-performance materials and products. 

That’s where flax comes in. Combined with natural resins, flax is now used in everything from auto exteriors and interiors to walls, ceilings, and flooring - to deliver high performance and sustainability.

Why flax? 

The short answer: flax composites can deliver all of the designer's needs: beauty, sustainability, and performance. 

Performance 

Flax’s very structure makes it a miracle fiber. With a crystalline structure that is higher than other natural fibers on the market, it is foundationally stronger, stiffer, and more durable than other fibers including hemp, and cotton. Continuous flax fibers also deliver a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel. 

Environmentally Superior 

Flax’s noteworthy environmental profile. Flax is one of the few plants to sequester more carbon during its 100-day growth period than in the entire cultivation and harvesting process while requiring no irrigation or harmful polluting pesticides. It is - arguably - one of the most sustainable plant products in the world.

Comparative products

Unlike bamboo, flax plants are not water intense or invasive. Unlike wood, flax is lightweight, minimizing the footprint of processing and transportation. And unlike traditional carbon fiber or fiberglass, flax fiber is carbon negative and sequesters carbon throughout its cultivation and growth period. Flax plants capture as much as 1.4 tons of CO2 per ton of fiber grown, as opposed to over the 2.5 tons of carbon emitted by fiberglass production.