HOVA DESIGN: Sustainable FabricPot Containers

Whether you have a certified green thumb or simply good, green intentions, Hova Design has created an innovative way for you to grow-your-own container plants with horticultural savviness and eco-ease. The FabricPot™ collection consists of collapsible, shipping-friendly containers made from waterproof, breathable fabric (much like that used in high-tech performance clothing). FabricPot’s expandable ‘sleeves’ rely on the volume of soil for stability, while also allowing air and water vapor to pass through the container walls, maximizing the health and gradual expansion of the plant’s root systems.

Hova Design Fabric Pot Trio with Zipper, fabric pots, green plants, green landscaping, fabric plant holders, sustainable landscaping

Traditional clay and plastic pots can be heavy, brittle, and space-consuming, not to mention damaging to roots due to the unwanted absorption of soluble salts. One can easily prevent having ‘pot bound’ or compact ‘root balls’ with the FabricPot’s ability to take shape in response to the plant’s growth and the proportional soil volume at the pot’s bottom. In the event that repotting is necessary, an expansion zipper in the side of the pot allows the root ball to be easily removed. To prevent drainage water from being re-absorbed, the elevated base keeps the soil above the high-water line of the drain pan. Elastic loops holding the sleeve to the base make it easy to separate the parts for cleaning.

Practicality issues aside, Hova Design’s fabrics sport dynamic patterns thanks to their collaboration with designer Angela Adams and her sustainable fabric line, created in conjunction with Architex International.

100% post-industrial recycled polyester FabricPots are available in two décor-friendly styles, Frusto (conical-shaped) and Silo (cylindrical-shaped). The FabricPot™ measures about 8.5 inches in diameter at the base (not including the drain pan) and is 8 inches tall.

+ FabricPots™ retail at $30 and $40

+ Hova Designs

3 Responses to “HOVA DESIGN: Sustainable FabricPot Containers”

Therese Says:

September 9th, 2007 at 10:50 pm

Excuse me, but how is a polyester pot for plants green? And a zipper in the side? I dunno, to me green gardening doesn’t involve any kind of manmade fibers! I hope nobody buys this stuff, thinking it’s somehow low impact.

studio wellspring Says:

September 11th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

what a great concept! thanks so much for sharing it.

Jim Says:

December 29th, 2007 at 11:42 am

I realize this may be too late to make a difference, but I feel that a response to Therese is due. No doubt, the ecological footprint of any product is hard to figure out. On the surface, it would seem that an unglazed clay pot is the most “eco” choice for container gardeners. After all, they are essentially dirt. However, when you add up the fuel costs of transportation (an 8″ clay pot weighs 4 pounds), their short life span (clay is very brittle; in fact, a percentage of every shipment is EXPECTED to show up broken) and the fact that many of these broken pots end up in the landfill, the image gets cloudier.

To see how our pots compared, we used the OKALA system of ecological impact accounting. What we found was that FabricPots were similar in impact to unglazed clay pots and had much less impact than a glazed clay pot (due to the siginificant firing time). Although we are using plastics, we use them sparingly and strive to use recycled/recyclable content wherever possible.

If anyone reads this and would like to learn more, I would love to discuss this and any other questions you might have. Feel free to contact us through our website, http://www.hovadesign.com. – Jim

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Please note that gratuitous links to your site are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments.