Aalto and Bugaboo reimagine the stroller with sawdust and orange peel

Students from Aalto University’s CHEMARTS program and Dutch stroller company Bugaboo have created a concept stroller that brings together seven experimental material solutions, including industrial waste streams, plant-based raw materials and recycled fibers.

What might a stroller look and feel like if its materials were designed from the ground up?

In the concept developed by Aalto University design and engineering students, the canopy material combines orange peel and wool waste, the lightweight back panel is made from sawdust, and the seat cushioning uses recycled egg-carton fibers and starch-based foam. Hemp and lignin, wood’s natural binding component, form a lace-like blanket, while a wood-based fiber material has been shaped into leather-like product labels.

A bio-based tar coating gives the experimental vegan leather-like seat material its distinctive surface, feel and scent.

The stroller was selected as the students’ design project because a single product brings together very different performance requirements: rigid structures, flexible textiles, soft foams and surfaces that must withstand wear and changing weather conditions.

– The concept stroller works much like a concept car. Its purpose is not to present a finished commercial product, but to make a possible future material landscape visible, says Professor Tiina Nypelö of Aalto University.

From material samples to a complete product

The seven materials are at different stages of development. According to Nypelö, the sawdust composite and the fiber foams used for cushioning may have particular potential for further development.

The canopy made from orange peel and wool waste demonstrates the possibilities of an unconventional raw-material combination, although properties such as weather resistance and durability would require further development.

– By 2040, some of these solutions could already be part of everyday products, Nypelö says.

The greatest barrier may not be developing a new material, but building the production system around it.

– Fossil-based polyester currently has an established, highly efficient and inexpensive supply chain. Waste streams such as orange peel do not yet have comparable logistics. We still need to determine where the raw material is collected, how it is transported and at what scale the material can be produced, Nypelö explains.

A real product created focus and scale

Bugaboo’s brief gave the students a recognizable product, a defined scale and real users to consider: parents and their children.

– It is important to offer students the opportunity to work with emerging bio-based materials in real-world contexts and through industry collaborations. This allows students to understand how the design and manufacturing industries are evolving, while providing them with the skills and knowledge needed to work with these materials in their future careers, says Lecturer Anna van der Lei.

Rather than developing isolated material samples, the students had to examine how each material could perform as part of a stroller and how it might eventually be manufactured in greater quantities. The experimental components were applied to an existing Bugaboo stroller frame.

– It was very refreshing and inspirational to work with the students and faculty members of Aalto University’s CHEMARTS program. We were introduced to raw materials and material solutions that we would never have encountered in our current procurement and production processes. The students’ fresh perspective and out-of-the-box approach to our products, paired with the expertise and knowledge of the CHEMARTS academic staff, gave us new ideas and a sneak preview into materials of the future, says Melanie Wijnands, Head of ESG at Bugaboo.

The concept stroller will be presented to the public in the From Waste to New exhibition, part of Aalto University’s Designs for a Cooler Planet program, at Marsio in Espoo, Finland, from 1 September to 30 October 2026.

Photo: Aalto University’s CHEMARTS programme develops new biomaterials. Pictured is an orange canopy made from orange peel and wool waste. Photo: Esa Kapila | Aalto University