07 December 2018

FIRST LADY JENNI HAUKIO, CELEBRATED FINLAND’S INDEPENDENCE IN WOOD-FIBRE GOWN, CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY THE WHOLE NATION

The celebration of Finland’s Independence Day on yesterday 6 December culminates with a reception given by the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. This year the First Lady, Mrs. Jenni Haukio wore a gown that started life as a birch in North Karelia.

The live TV broadcast of the reception and ball nets one of the highest viewerships in Finland. Armed with refreshments and snacks, people gather together for an all-out sizing up of the invitees’ apparel. The invitees include the highest élite of Finnish society, complemented by a sample of the ordinary citizens the President has met during the preceding year – and, of course, by the foreign ambassadors stationed in Finland. This time the sight of one particular dress was looked forward to with excitement by many, not least by those active in the forest sector.
It was the gown of the First Lady, Mrs Jenni Haukio, the fabric for which consists of dissolved-pulp fibres, produced by Stora Enso at its Uimaharju mill in North Karelia.
Sirpa Välimaa, Dissolving Pulp Product Manager at Stora Enso, was definitely among those most excited. ”We actually planned to set up a studio at the Uimaharju mill to follow the broadcast. It’s really great to see how our mill, with its 51-year history, gains new life with dissolving pulp and new technology,” says Välimaa. The fabric of Mrs. Haukio’s gown was made of dissolving pulp with the completely new Ioncell technology.
In the process, the pulp was first dissolved, spun into fibres, carded, spun into yarn and then made into a gown at Aalto University. The idea for an Ioncell gown for Mrs. Haukio was originally conceived by Tuula Teeri, former President of Aalto University.
On being broached, Mrs. Haukio expressed her interest in this opportunity to support both Finnish research that promotes sustainability and young, talented designers.

For more information contact Mr Anders Portin, Managing Director:
FINNISH FOREST Association / Suomen Metsäyhdistys
Salomonkatu 17-A
FIN-00100 HELSINKI, Finland / Tel. +358 9 6850880 E-mail: forest@smy.fi  / http://www.smy.fi  

STORA ENSO, Mr Sirpa Valimaa
Kanavaranta 1
FIN-00101 HELSINKI, Finland / Tel. +358 20 46131 E-mail: skog.info@storaenso.com