Wood
You may well be familiar with the claim that a forested area the size of a football pitch is cleared in the Amazon every minute, which has led to more scrutiny of the wood used to make furniture. Checking for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is a start; this designation is given to timber harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious and economically viable. Italian firm Porada – a specialist in contemporary wood furniture – has gone further. For the past 10 years, it has been buying up and maintaining huge tracts of ash forests in France – over 544 acres since 2011. Ash is one of the main woods used by the company, which now has a supply of timber gathered by French government-approved pruning (rather than large-scale clearing) for its furniture production in Brianza, Italy.
Upholstery
It has taken a while for the environmental policies of many contemporary furniture companies to be considered as dynamic as the designs they produce. This is changing as responsibility, traceability and transparency become new watchwords. Most brands now have sustainability statements on their websites. In Italy, Poliform, Molteni&C, Poltrona Frau and Minotti are examples of those making a real effort. British furniture company SCP has almost entirely stopped using foam filling in its upholstered furniture, opting for more natural materials such as rubberised coconut hair and needled wool.
Textiles
Problems surrounding the production of fabrics include the toxicity of some dyes (with chemicals sometimes flushed into the local environment during production), the large amount of water required to grow crops such as cotton, and greenhouse gas emissions – not to mention the ethical concerns associated with leather. Speaking of which, performance textiles company Ultrafabrics has developed a range called Ultraleather ‘Volar Bio’. Made from 29 per cent plant-based materials, such as wood pulp and corn by-products, it is designed to look and feel like leather. The array of colours is huge.
- Few can match the efforts of the Danish brand Kvadrat, which include a wind-powered factory, recycled wool and cotton ranges, and a reduction of water usage by 30 per cent.
- Sustainability has always been a core value at de Le Cuona, and its recent development of an organic linen collection is a first in the world of interiors fabrics. Even its flagship showroom on Pimlico Road, SW1, was largely fitted out with reclaimed and recycled materials.
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Architecture
It’s not just how we fill our homes, it’s also how we design and build them. New developers such as House by Urban Splash, whose motto is ‘live well by design’, use Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to build with less waste and fewer carbon emissions, and make green spaces integral to their schemes. Many architectural practices are reassessing how they work and setting goals to build more responsibly. Foster + Partners has published an eight-page manifesto setting out its methodology to quantify and to reduce the total carbon emissions produced over the lifespan of its projects.
Plastic
Big efforts are being made in the design world to reduce the amount of plastic we use, and to reuse and recycle where possible. London-based rug designer Jennifer Manners has worked with her team of artisans in India to develop a range of soft hand-knotted rugs made with fibres from recycled plastic water bottles. She is not the first to make rugs from plastic, but has elevated the idea into something that looks and feels luxurious.
- The Italian furniture company Magis is one of the best-known plastic furniture specialists and has recently launched its ‘Bell Chair’ designed by Konstantin Grcic. This lightweight, low-cost stackable design made from recycled polypropylene can also be recycled itself.
Events
Planted, a new sustainability-first design show, had its debut last year with a primarily virtual event during the London Design Festival. This year it was back in physical form in King’s Cross. Based round the principles of biophilic design, the event connects users to the natural world and will showcase leading sustainable design brands that place the environment at their core, alongside nature-themed installations, plant-based products and a programme of forward-thinking talks.
Water
It is incorrect to think that water waste is a problem only for regions where fresh water is scarce. Producing drinkable water – through the processes of cleaning and filtration – takes a huge amount of energy so it creates a sizeable carbon footprint, which is increased once water is used in domestic appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers. In UK households, most water wastage occurs in the bathroom, so the bathroom industry is making great strides to develop products that reduce water consumption. Bathroom specialist VitrA is a particularly good example. Its dedicated Blue Life approach to design is a commitment to working more sustainably. It offers customers options such as shallower baths and aerator connected taps, which add streams of air into the water flow and allow less water to be used while still maintaining the pressure.
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