If you know a thing or two about ergonomic office furniture, then you’ve probably heard of the Aeron Chair by Herman Miller. The Aeron Chair set the standard for ergonomic office chairs nearly 30 years ago and although the competition is fierce, the Aeron Chair is still a juggernaut in the field. Designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick, the Aeron Chair was centered around quality sustainable materials, performance, and comfort. In fact, the Aeron was a pioneering product manufactured with innovative and sustainable materials. The designers focused on the relationship between good for the body and good for the environment.
A history of sustainability
Thirty years ago the concept of recycling used materials and creating products from recycled materials was in it’s infancy. The Aeron Chair was one of the first mass manufactured office products to incorporate post consumer recycled materials into the manufacturing process. Using cutting edge material innovation, Herman Miller was able to manufacture the Aeron Chair composed of 50% recycled materials. This approach earned Herman Miller the V3 Silver Level Certification for the Aeron Chair. Fast forward 30 years and the Aeron Chair is still the best-selling premium ergonomic office chair on the market. So, it makes sense that Herman Miller would try to improve on their near perfect Aeron Chair.
In 2021, Herman Miller released the Aeron Chair Onyx Edition. As you might guess the Onyx Edition is solid black including the mesh seat and back. The design is exactly the same as the original Aeron Chair but this new release incorporated the a new material now know as NextWave Plastic. This new plastic is composed of ocean-bound plastic. You guessed it, ocean-bound plastic is plastic created from plastic materials that have been retrieved from our planets oceans. Based on current production numbers, Herman Miller diverts 234 metric tons of plastic from oceans each year to create NextWave plastic to be incorporated into the Onyx Edition Aeron Chair.
Although nothing about the chair changed from a design perspective, the incorporation of NewWave Plastic changes everything. Not only does this chair provide years of pain free ergonomic support but it also helps us mitigate a serious environmental issue. If you are in the market for a new ergonomic task chair, it might be time to take a closer look at the Aeron Onyx Edition. It’s a chair with real soul! Now you can feel even better about owning the very best ergonomic office chair available.
Related posts you might enjoy!
Top 10 Reasons to Buy the Aeron Chair
The Aeron Chair in Pop Culture
